Coming Together
by Dino-SOAR
Summary: Two best friends are alone in the zombie apocalypse. They come across the members of the group we all love down the road and fall for two of our favorite men. Can Daryl learn to love? Can Shane keep it together for the sake of a girl? Will everybody get a happily ever after or has the new world changed them all for worst? AU - Does not follow canon storyline - Shane/OC & Daryl/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**Hey guys! This is Dino-SOAR and my best friend herUSMCdream and we have decided to do a collaboration piece for The Walking Dead. This fanfiction is very AU and does not follow any of the plot line for the TV show. Although this piece does not follow the original plot line, they will come across all the characters in the show. Just like the show, none of the characters are safe and all of them have the same personality traits as they were given in the show. Also – this story is rated T. BUT… there will be M rated chapters in the future! We will always warn you in the authors note – BUT BE AWARE that there will be some smut and violent scenes/scenarios. Hope you guys enjoy and don't be afraid to give us feedback on what you think!**

**Hearts and Rainbows,**

**Dino-SOAR**

**Hayley's POV – **

"Let's climb it!"

"Or not," I counter back in a dead pan voice.

"We're doing it." Victoria says as she moves towards the giant mound of snow, her feet already digging in as she starts a quick, yet deliberate descent up the snow bank.

"This thing is like four stories high." I yell back to her as I stomp my foot trying for one last whine before I know she will talk me into climbing it with her.

"Stop being a pussy!" She hollers from twenty feet above me. I stare at her footprints in the snow and sigh knowing there was absolutely no way I could talk her out of making me go up there. I was so going to regret this. I just knew I would.

I dig my feet into her footprints and continued the pattern until she has coaxed me three fourths of the way up.

"This is awesome!" She bellows from the top. "Hurry the hell up so you can see the view!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Don't rush me! You know how much I hate heights and exercise."

By the time I finally reach the top, I was panting and questioning why I was still friends with the blond chick I called my best friend before I realized that the view from atop actually _was_ amazing. I couldn't keep the smile off my face. Maybe facing your fears weren't so bad after all.

"You know this is a once in a lifetime thing right?" I asked her when we were quiet for a bit.

"Yeah, I know." She shrugs at me before asking, "You hungry?"

"Aren't I always?" I challenge.

"So true." She calls back as she begins to travel back down to the pavement with ease. Halfway down, she turns back around and notices that I'm still stuck in the same spot she left me in. "Come on Maltzy, I don't have all day." The nickname she has for me brings a small smile to my face before I realize that she is right. I can't just stand up here all day on this mountain of snow, yet I have no clue what-so-ever how I'm supposed to get back down when the snow is too steep to just step down and there is nowhere to grab onto. My eyes widen at the fear that I may not be able to get back down until the snow melts hits me like a wrecking ball.

"Victoria!" I call out, the panic in my voice clearly visible.

"You rang?" She laughs; her obvious amusement at my predicament evident in her laughing green eyes.

I look at her footprints again, my eyes darting all around to find a possible exit route before giving her a look that states 'HELP ME!'

"Hayley, relax," she says, all humor gone from her voice when she realizes how scared I really am. "Just step into the footprints I made."

"I can barely even see them!"

"Yes you can, you're just being over dramatic. Do you need me to come back up and get you?" She asks, starting to move a bit towards me and digging her shoes deeper into the already indented snow.

"No!" I yell, not wanting the help and also not wanting her to prove how better she was then me again at anything that has to do with any physical activity. I was nearly twenty years old! I could fucking figure out how to get off a pile of snow without her help. Thinking for a quick second I did the first thing that came to mind, sat on my ass and slid down the rest of the way.

"That's one way of doing it." Victoria smiles, her blond hair bouncing back in forth in its place atop her head as she practically runs the rest of the way down the snow bank. Athletic bitch. She is about to say more before we are interrupted by the sounds of sirens getting closer to our area near the road. We glance behind us, my jaw dropping, when I see the amount of ambulances that drive by. There must be at least fifteen of them, all going in the same direction.

"Weird." I mumble.

"Probably some idiotic drunk driver cruising all over the road and causing massive destruction with every swerve he makes. Ready to head back to your house?"

I nod, turning in the direction of my house. "Shouldn't take too long."

As we make our way onto the main road, I can't help but wish we brought one of our cars. "I hate walking." I state.

"That's because you're a lazy ass."

I smile. "I just hate moving dude."

She rolls her eyes and playfully pushes me into a small pile of snow as we walk towards my street. "Hey!" I yell, pushing her back once I get back up.

She is stronger than I am, so she holds her ground pretty well until I push her again while she isn't paying attention, and make her stumble a bit.

"Remember the time you blamed me when you walked into that wall during our sophomore year of high school? You were so pissed" I reminisce, while wiping my jeans off of any excess snow.

She laughs loudly at the thought. "You were so confused."

"Well obviously! You walked into the wall and then started yelling at me!"

"Well duh. It was your fault. If you weren't taking up more than half the hallway, I would've never walked into that wall!"

I couldn't help but smile at her joke since we were always cracking jokes about each other's non-existent fat, but decided to play offended anyway. "I was not taking up more than half the hallway! You just clearly can't talk and walk at the same time."

"What do you think I'm doing right now dumbass?" She asks rolling her eyes before looking up and noticing that we are approaching my house. "Is your Mom home yet? I haven't seen her since before you went back to school."

"I think so." I open the door, making it squeak and crash against the wall before heading straight into my living room with Victoria not far behind.

"Mom?" I call out. No answer.

"Weird. Wasn't that her car?" Victoria nods back towards the front part of our house.

"Maybe she's on the shitter?" I thought aloud.

Victoria rolls her eyes and chuckles, as she starts to go through my kitchen cabinets looking for some much needed food.

"Make yourself at home I guess?" I say teasingly.

"Please, we all know your mother likes me better anyway. This would be my home if I didn't like mine so much" She teases back. I smile at her and turn to head to my room when my eyes are drawn to my mother's dark form in the threshold of the doorway.

"Hey Mom," I say, glad that I found her.

My mother groans loudly and shuffles awkwardly towards me.

"Mom?" I call out again but there is still no affirmative answer, just some more groaning and a shuffling as she comes closer to me. Her body comes into full view when she is completely out of the darkened hallway and into the light of the kitchen and I immediately notice a large wound on her arm and how disgustingly pale she looks. Sickly even. Her clothes are askew and torn, as if she had just made her way out of a horrible fight.

"Oh my gosh!" I hear Victoria cry when she finally notices my mother. "Are you alright?"

My mother quickly looks to her left, not realizing that Victoria had been there until now. She stops and groans again then starts shuffling towards her, teeth baring and arms outstretched as if to make a grab for her.

"MOM!" I shout, baffled by my mother's behavior. I knew my mother would eventually go insane, I just didn't realize it would be this soon. My voice makes her turn again but this time instead of moving slow and with purpose she pounces on me making us both fall to the ground.

"Victoria, do something!" I manage to screech out as I struggle to get out from under her but she is just too strong. Victoria looks around my kitchen for a second and then grabs a knife from the magnetic strip we have hanging near our oven, holding it out as if she were about to stab my mother.

"Get off of her!" She yells with terror in her voice. When my mother continues to growl and bare her teeth at me, Victoria does the one thing that she can think of, graze the back of her calf with the knife. My mother lets me go and with a howl, stands to go after Victoria.

"Mom! Get the fuck away from her!" I yell while trying to keep my voice from shaking. She looks back at me and starts towards me again. "Fuck!" I yell, reaching my arms out so she can't get too close to me. I hit her fiercely, trying to run around her but manage to trip over my own feet. She growls in my face and nearly sinks her teeth into my leg until she falls face forward into me, her eyes still and her movements stop. Victoria helps roll her off of me and when I finally stand I see the knife Victoria was holding sticking out of her head.

"Mom!" I scream, grabbing for her, tears already streaming down my cheeks. "How could you?!" I screamed up at my friend.

"She was about to kill you! She could've given you rabies or whatever the fuck she has!"

"What the fuck is your problem?!" I couldn't do this. How was I supposed to tell my brother that I just killed our mother? How was I supposed to get through my college years without her advice? How on earth was Victoria not going to go to jail? I let out a choked sob. I couldn't lose my mother and my best friend. Had I already lost her? She just killed my mother! Or what was my mother.

I was broken from my thoughts with Victoria pulling me out the door and towards her car "We have to go! I'm sorry about your Mom, but you can stay with me for a while. We have to go! It's not safe here! My parents will know what to do! You know my Dad!" She says as she settles us into the tan Mercury Sable and starts the car. "He'll know how to handle this." She says more to herself than me.

The whole drive to her house I am hysterical. I am nearly screaming, but I don't know what I'm trying to say or even if my words are making sense. The only thoughts in my mind are my mother's lifeless face and getting a hold of my brother TJ, yet with every dial of his number I know that I won't be able to talk to him anytime soon.

"He's not picking up!" I scream.

"Shh!" Victoria shushes me as she gets out of her car. I follow suit, not sure why I deserve to be shushed but listen as she is. I notice that I don't hear anything. There is nothing. No car alarms, no horns, no wheels on the pavement, no screaming Hispanic neighbors, no nothing like there usually is during this time of day.

"This isn't right." She mumbles to herself and heads towards her front door, opening it quietly.

"Dad?" She calls out. "Mom? Corey?"

No answer. Nothing but the sound of our foot steps against the hardwood flooring. I wipe my eyes for the millionth time and follow her into her kitchen. "Corey?" She calls out one more time, almost desperately.

I press TJ's name on my phone again, getting nervous at the lack of noise. I need something to hold onto, something to help stop the anxiety that is just minutes away from giving me a full blown panic attack. I hold the phone to my ear as it rings and heads straight to voicemail again. "Seriously TJ this is _not_ the time to not be answering your damn phone!" I say mostly to myself.

"Relax; just let me call my parents." Victoria says calmly, pulling out her own phone. She turns it on and slightly gasps at whatever is on it.

"What?" I ask with concern laced into my voice.

"My Mom texted me while we were on the snow bank. She said she was at the store. I bet my Dad and brother are with her!" She says, grabbing her car keys. "Let's go!"

"Wait!" I yell. "Call them first! Tell them to come here!"

"She's not answering!" She says after holding the phone to her ear for a moment. "I can't just wait around! We have to find them. Explain what happened with your Mom."

I nod, rubbing my eyes once more as we make our way to her car and speed through deserted roads and stop lights.

Once we get to Stop and Shop, we drive around from the back.

"My parents usually park in the back of the front parking lot." She explains.

"Alright, let's check the store first though. I'm sure she's just buying dinner or something." I mumble, but not really believing it myself.

She nods and we make our way to the store. "It's so quiet."

We walk through the sliding black doors and are automatically faced with pure chaos. Those _things_ are everywhere. The ones like my Mom. They are all wandering around, as if dead, but not. I gasp audibly. Victoria's hand moves suddenly and she puts it on my mouth but it's too late. The "man" closet to us hears it and his head turns in our direction. A loud moan rips through him and his body twists so that he is now shuffling towards us with a vengeance. Behind him is about ten more of them.

"Get to the car!" Victoria yells, grabbing my forearm and moving us back to where we came from.

We run as fast as we can but we're cut off by others.

"Shit!" I yell and see Victoria dart to the side. I run after her, wondering where in God's name she plans on running to when I lay eyes on three white trucks with pictures of groceries packed in a brown bag on the side. Fucking genius. I knew this is why I decided to become best friends with her!

I see Victoria running towards the one closet to us, her body skidding to a stop at the back of it. Her hands and legs climb as fast as they can up the white ladder until she is at the top. She turns and sees me looking back at the steadily growing people chasing us down.

"Hayley!" I look up at her and see her hand extended. "Grab my hand!" I reach up and slightly jump to grab it before she pulls me up. I looked behind me to see the sick people surrounding us.

There was no way out. We are so screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

**What up my Walking Dead fans?! How are you guys? This is my (herUSMCdream) first chapter of Dino-SOAR's new story Miles Apart. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Oh and don't forget to thank Dino-SOAR for her awesome editing skills. This chapter would've turned out slightly choppy and weird-ish if it wasn't for her. I'm done ranting now.**

**Hugs and epic face plants, **

**herUSMCdream **

**Victoria POV - **

_Shit. Shit. SHIT! What the fuck is going on?! This can't be happening. I can't just stand here waiting to die! But what else could I do?_ _This is how I'm going to die. These are the last people I will see. _I can't stop the thoughts of death from entering my mind._ I could've never imagined this outcome even in my wildest nightmares. Maybe this was a nightmare._

I close my eyes for a moment and take a deep breath, trying to block out the cries of my best friend and the moans of the people trying to kill me, and after a few seconds I open them again, expecting to see my bedroom, messy as usual. No such luck. I look to my left at Hayley, fear in her wide brown eyes as she looks at me for guidance. _What does she expect me to do? What _could_ I do?_ _Should I even attempt to survive? Or is it useless? Is there a way out of this? Probably not if I'm being completely honest with myself. SHIT! I think Hayley just said something. I have to get my thoughts under control or we are both going to lose it._

Turning towards her I see that she is waiting for me to respond.

"What?" I ask.

"How the hell are we supposed to get down?" her voice rising out of fear and her face contorting so that the panic attack that is surely about to start is evident. I know that if I don't come up with something soon, she's going to jump off this thing and feed herself to whatever the hell you call these… things. "Those – those things have us surrounded!"

"I know, I know. Hold on, let me just think for a second." My thoughts are coming at me a mile a minute. I look everywhere for something, a nearby branch that we can possibly hang onto or an object that is sharp enough to possibly cut through someone's scalp… just like it went through Lauren's. _Shit, I can't start thinking about that right now._

"What are you doing? Debit cards and cash won't help us out this time." Hayley speaks up when I start rummaging through my over the shoulder, black purse hoping that there might be something worth use in there, since there seems to be nothing of use nearby. Her voice has a slight edge to it and I know without even looking at her that she is obviously confused and slightly annoyed.

"I know," I say back quickly for what feels like the hundredth time, "I'm… just… looking for…" My fingers make contact with something hard and I immediately straighten back up with a satisfactory grin, turning my body so that it's facing her completely. "This!" I hold up the silver and green object.

"A box cutter?"

"Do you have a better idea?" I retort.

I can see that as soon as the words leave me mouth she knows that the box cutter is our only salvation. With a sigh she looks down at it and then back up at me, her eyes no longer just showing fear but also some hope. "Okay, what's our plan?"

I give her a minor nod before searching out an escape route at the back of truck. The results aren't promising and the small smile that has formed while talking to Hayley, vanishes just as quickly as it came. The back of the truck is a definite no. There seems to be several rows of people all in which they are practically climbing over each other trying to reach us. There is no way we can make it out alive if we go back down the ladder. Glancing at Hayley, I see the panic in her start to rise all over again and her eyes welling up with tears as she comes to the same realization as me.

_Shit, I got to get us out of here before she has a major break down._

Stepping towards the front of the truck, I notice that there are only about five or six of these things mashing their hands onto the hood of the car, their chipped nails digging into the white paint and scratching it as if they're claws. _Bingo._

"Hayley, this way!"

She runs to me as my body starts to disappear towards the front of the cab. At this point, I'm close enough to notice who exactly is trying to attack us. I gasp, horrified that I actually know some of the "people," if I could even still call them that. Donna, the red headed, petite lady who always seems to be the one that checks me out, and Dave, the older man who I consider a part of my family looks to be doing everything in his power to pull himself up the hood of the truck and attack. These people were my friends and I now have to kill them? I freeze, not knowing what to do before the sound of Hayley's multi-colored tennis shoes rubbing up against the window draws my attention back on track. We have to get out of here and fast. Whoever these people are now, are definitely not the people I once knew.

I check to see if the knife is fully extended and then jam the box knife into the "persons" head, angling the knife down in one swift motion. "He" goes down in an instant. I repeat the same move as quickly as I can to the rest of them before grabbing Hayley's hand and dragging her body the rest of the way down the truck.

"Run!" I yell letting go of her and turning to make sure that there isn't another one too close behind us. My eyes quickly scan the faces of the people I once knew, silently thanking the Gods up above when I realize that my parents and brother are nowhere to be found in the cold, hard faces.

"Your car is too far away and there are far too many of those things all around. We are never going to make it!" She screams back before I turn again and see her start sprinting towards a black F-150. She hops into the passenger side door, slamming it behind her and starts rummaging around the bed of the truck with determination. When I finally manage to get in and lock the doors behind me she is already leaning over my seat and feeling her way underneath the steering wheel.

"What the hell are you doing?" I nearly scream. Looking behind me to see the things quickening their pace, my heart beats faster in my chest.

She glares hard at the blackness from where she is leaning, her hands trying to pry something open under the steering wheel. "There's no key in here! My brother taught me how that if we can just get the compartment under the steering wheel to open, I can basically hotwire it." No sooner has she finishes her speech, the small compartment pops open and she shoves her hand inside it, pulling out a tan box with a metal, circle switch on it. She pushes on it with her thumb forcefully, and I can see her thumb getting red from the pressure. Before I process that my best friend knows how to hotwire a car and never told me, the engine revs and I am peeling out of the parking lot and heading back to the comfort of my house.

"What the hell is going on?" Hayley screeches at me still looking through the passenger mirror to see how far away we are from the store and the chaos that's around it.

"I have absolutely no fucking clue."

"And why the hell were you stashing a box cutter in your purse?"

"Corey had left it in my car the other day when I had to pick him up from work and I put it in my purse to give it back to him but haven't gotten the chance yet," I explain.

She nods her head in understanding and lets everything that just happened to us sink in as she stares out the window. The rest of drive back is silent, both of us thinking about what we just witnessed and praying that the rest of our family members are safe.

When I pull into my driveway we both jump out of the truck on shaky legs. I sigh and make my way around the bed of the truck, already starting to form another plan in my head. We needed to get out of this state and fast but first we needed to figure out what was going on and where we were going. From the look on Hayley's face, I knew she had the same thing on her mind.

"Let's go see if there is anything on the news that can help us figure out what is going on then we can decide where to go from there," I say trying to be as calm as I can be.

Hayley sniffles and I don't realize that she is crying until she wipes her nose. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and try to be as comforting as possible, "It's alright Maltzy. We'll be okay." She shakes her head in agreement with me before pulling away. She moves forward and we both start a slow descend up the stairs and into my house.

Upon entering, we walk down the narrow hallway and sit on my couch while I fumble around in search of the black remote control to turn the television on. Once it's on, I flip through the stations until a pretty looking Asian woman in a gray suit jacket and black pencil skirt pops up onto the flat screen. The banging and thumping in the background is clearly heard over the set yet I notice that the news lady acts as if there is nothing there except for a few anxious glances she makes every once in a while to the left of the screen.

"We come to you live from our CNN studio" she begins. "Researchers have told us that there is a new virus going global. They are not too sure on what could be causing this outbreak but they have started a new process in which all civilians infected may go to the CDC in Atlanta and get tested to help find a possible cure. Doctors at the CDC have stated that any help would be greatly appreciated. Government officials advise civilians to go into the nearest city for Refugee Centers. For more information please call…"

I listen to her rattle off the number before I click the power button on the remote. Everything goes black and silent again. When the silence becomes too much, I jump up and start pacing the room. I catch a glimpse of Hayley watching me from her rigid position on the couch before walking past her and shoving my thumb nail in my mouth to bite on.

This fucking virus was global? There was no way we could stay here. Winter will be coming soon and with little to no heat or food we'll be dead in a months' time and that's if we even survive the winter, and with these cannibals running around who knew if that would happen. Yet who knew what the other towns and states are like. What if they are just as bad as us? Hell what if they are worse?! But then again, what if they're better? Global doesn't necessarily mean that every state was affected. Maybe down south is at least a bit better than here. I mean, there's no way in hell we can stay in Boston. Hell, there was no way we'd make it to Boston. The traffic is going to be horrible! We'd be stuck on the MassPike for weeks at this rate. We wouldn't even come close to making it into the city without having to ditch our car at some point and walking the rest of the way.

I am literally stumbled out of my inner rambling by Hayley shoving out her purple and blue sneakered foot and tripping me.

"What the hell was that for?" I ask, getting my feet back under me and glaring at her.

"You were giving me a headache watching you walk back and forth, back and forth" she replies while moving her finger in the motion of a pangolin style clock. "And get your hand out of your mouth! Do you know how many germs on underneath that nail?" She continues, slapping at my thigh.

"You know how I get when I'm nervous." I sigh as I sit back down next to her. "We have to figure out a plan. Decide whether or not it will be a good idea to move south or stay put."

"Move south?" Hayley asks horrified. "Why the fuck would we do that? They said to go into Boston."

"We can't get to Boston and you know it! Think of the traffic on a good day, let alone on a day where we find out the world is basically coming to an end! We wouldn't survive long enough to make it there. The CDC they were talking about is in Georgia and we live in Massachusetts Maltz. Pretty soon we won't have heat if things don't get back on track soon, and it doesn't look like they're going to. And I'm definitely not going back to that store to get eaten by some crazed zombie looking things, all so we can eat! Going south seems to be our only option right now."

"Things could get better! This is just a fluke! Like the swine flu, remember?" She looked into my eyes with desperation evident on her face.

"This isn't just the swine flu and you know it! This is a whole different can of worms."

It was her turn to now get up and pace. I watch her small figure walk to the fish tank located in the far corner of the room, all the way to the mahogany colored china cabinet near the entrance and back. She stops all of a sudden and turns to me. "This can't be happening. We can't move. We don't even know where TJ is or your mom and dad. Heck what about Corey, huh? We can't just leave them behind. It's not fair. It's not right! They're our family!"

I keep my voice calm and steady as I reply. "Look we know that neither my parents nor my brother are at the store which means they could've already started heading somewhere else. Your brother is in the heart of Boston and like I've said before, it will be absolutely impossible for us to get anywhere near the city right now. Besides, he's probably safer there if they have refugee centers. We're just going to have to keep leaving messages on their phones and even leave a note in case someone comes home. We'll explain everything. Where we are going, what's happening and that we will meet back up again at the CDC. You can even leave your brother's information for my parents." I get up and step towards her before finishing, "we can't stay here and you know it."

Hayley starts sobbing at this point. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later and I had no way of comforting her other than giving letting her cry it all out and hugging her. Finally she takes a deep breath, wipes the remaining tears away and draws back from my arms.

"Where are we going and how, how are we getting there?" She asks, attempting to be strong.

"The CDC is the best option. They'll probably have treatment options and even vaccines by the time we get there. We just need to be somewhere safe. We'll leave a note for my parents and brother to try and get a hold of TJ." I say as I make my way into the kitchen to start grabbing anything that looks sharp enough to hurt or kill a person.

Gosh, who knew I could be so violent.

"Y'know…" She starts saying, "The CDC is in Atlanta right? Well they said to go to major cities for refugee centers. I bet the CDC will have contact with most of the refugee centers, especially ones in major cities. So maybe they could tell me if TJ made it?" She explains with hope evident in her voice.

I nod, "Exactly! So we have to go. The last place we want to be is in a crowd right now anyway. It could get bad. We're also going to need to fill up on fuel and food. My dad has some buckets in the back that we can fill up so that we don't have to stop along the way," I continue. "Can you go and get one of the bags that is in my mother's closet for me?"

She walks into the bedroom across from the kitchen and fumbles around for a moment as I go back into the kitchen and grab a few knives. I touch the tip of the biggest one with my index finger, to see how sharp it is. I draw a small droplet of blood and smile. Good weapons are important.

"We should stop up at my school. It's completely dead out towards Westfield and there is a huge Wal-Mart about a mile and a half down the road. We can stalk up on everything there, plus that's where most of my shit is anyway." She says as she hands me my mother's favorite black leather backpack. She will be pissed when she comes home to find it missing. Oh well, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

I smile at her, straightening and closing the utensil drawer before dropping the knives into the bag. I knew her smarts is one of the reasons I kept her around. "Good idea. Let me just grab some clothes and you start writing the note. I'll be down in a second and then we can be on our way."

She nods at me and gets to work on the task I give her as I search my room for some of things I know I'll need. Looking at my bed one last time, I make a quick decision and snatch up the light yellow bunny that I've had since I was a child and stuff it onto the top of my bag before drawing the strings and closing the bag off completely. Slinging it over my shoulder I make my way back into the kitchen and see that Hayley is finished writing the note in her neat handwriting. My eyes linger on a picture that my mother has hung up on our refrigerator of a close up shot of my brother, mother, father and I from about ten birthdays ago. My fingers run over it lightly.

"All set?" Hayley asks getting up from her spot at the wooden kitchen table and makes her way to the door.

"After you, my lady" I say, drawing my attention away from the photo and following her. We're about half way down the stairs when I turn back around and make a jog for the kitchen again. I snatch the photo back up, and shove it in my pocket.

Hayley is sitting in the truck, tapping her hands against her jeans when I make it downstairs. "You okay?"

The only reply she gets is a slight head nod and a forced smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N – Thanks for the reviews everyone (: Reviews definitely make us feel about 100% more motivated to get out shit together and write! **

**Also – Feel free to give us any ideas or suggestions you may have (:**

**Happy Reading,**

**Dino-SOAR & herUSMCdream**

**Hayley POV**

A little over an hour and half later, Victoria and I finally pull into the parking lot at Westfield. Looking at the place now, you wouldn't believe that just a week and ago there were students and professors milling around, jamming for exams and laughing at idiotic "that's what she said" jokes. The campus is just as deserted as Victoria's neighborhood but the main difference is, instead of the eerie feeling of no one around, it feels like the calm after a massive explosion. Cars are overturned and the only sound that can be heard for miles is the crunching of tires against the debris spread all over.

"Looks like a hurricane went through this place," I voice my thoughts aloud.

"You can say that again."

"Looks like a hu-"

Victoria cuts me off before I can repeat the sentence. "Shut up Maltzy. I was kidding."

"I know, I know." I cross my arms, kind of pissed that she is treating me like a two year old. "Sheesh I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"Sorry," she says, her voice low. "I just want to get your shit and than we can be on our merry little way."

She parks the truck as close to my brick dorm building as she can get. Reaching into the back seat of the truck I hear her rummaging through the back pack. A second later she turns back around and has two huge kitchen knives in each hand. I gawk at the one she is holding out to me wondering why the hell she would even let me see such a huge thing this close up, yet alone making me hold it.

She sees my look and hesitation to take it and lets out an impatient sigh. "Just take it. You might need it and I can't hold off a thousand dead looking people by myself if that's what we are about to walk into."

I look at the object one more time before shrugging and taking it from her outstretched hand. I know she is right so there is no need to go against her. She gives me a nod in approval and swivels to open her door, jumping out soundlessly and closing it quietly behind her. I follow suit.

"You ready?" Victoria asks, as we get out of the car. I look to my right and see her coming around to meet me at my side of the truck, her eyes already scanning the building.

"If I say no am I allowed to stay in the truck while you go and get my things?" I reply, already knowing the answer but figuring I could at least try and get her to let me back out.

"Nope" she says with a touch of humor in her voice. Her blond hair sways to the side as she faces me again, a smile on her face as she pushes me forward with a hand on my back. She keeps it there until she knows I won't resist or try to run back to the parked car.

The lights are flickering on and off as we make our way into the building making my vision go in and out of focus. When my eyes finally adjust to the lighting I notice that the place is just as messy inside as it is outside. Clothes and paper liter the floors. Each room we pass has over turned desks and empty lopsided beds. Calendars that usually help the students keep track of their schedule have sad, desperate notes and phone numbers covering class times. The blue stairs leading up to the rooms have open books thrown with ripped out pages and when we finally reach my floor, a green couch is blocking the main entrance.

Victoria climbs over it first, knowing that I am too afraid of something popping out at me in the dark hallway. She grabs onto my hand and tugs a bit before I oblige and stumble my way over and across the couch. The cushions that are supposed to be on it are haphazardly along the floor and I have to look down so that I don't trip over one of them. Her hand is trembling in mine but she doesn't hesitate as she continues to slowly move forward.

When we reach my room, she gently opens the thick door and pokes her head in to make sure that no one or anything is going to pop up at us before stepping back and letting me enter. I hurry to my closet as I try not to look at what used to be my bright colored, neat dorm room. I know if I do it'll just destroy me and I can't take anymore destruction right now. What's that saying? _Ignorance is bliss_. Pulling out a black and light blue backpack, I start shoving random pieces of clothing inside. When it's filled as much as possible I turn to see Victoria staring at me. This is all just too much. I throw my bag down at her feet and quickly walk out of the room before she can see the tears starting to pool in my eyes and my chin quivering.

"I'm gonna go take a piss." I mumble and take a right out of the room and entering the large multi-person bathroom. I sigh leaning my body up against the door. This will probably be the last time I ever see this bathroom.

_No. Try and think positive, Hayley. You'll be back here by next Fall_.

As I walk over to the middle sink I hear a slight shuffling from one of the stalls behind me. My eyes immediately search out the person's feet before I recognize the Adidas sandals and straighten. A huge grin spreads across my face as I realize just whose Adidas sandals they are. My roommate.

"Amanda!" I practically shout making my way to the far right stall that she's in. "Thank God you're okay." I don't wait for a response, not being able to contain my excitement at seeing another familiar face and open the stall door. What I see isn't the black haired, goofy person that I've grown to consider a really close friend of mine since we've met this pass year, but a pale, dead looking girl with screwed up teeth and blood dripping from the corners of her mouth. I dodge the arm that flails out at me and run out the door, back into my room, slamming the door as quickly as possible and locking it. My body sags as I lean heavily against it.

"What is it?" Victoria asks in alarm, trying to move me so she can look through the peephole.

"Don't!" I yell, breathing heavily

"What the hell did you see?!" She yells in my face, gripping her knife in one hand and the door handle in the other.

I feel tears well up in my eyes for the umpteenth time in the past few hours. "Amanda. She's… she's one of them."

"I'm sorry Hayley" I budge this time when she pushes me lightly again and walk over to where my bed is askew on the hard tiled floor, to sit. She looks at me one last time and sighs, her eyes clouding over with pity. A second later she sets her jaw and opens the door, stepping out into the hallway once again. The last thing I see before I break down and cry fully, is the back of Victoria's bright pink North Face.

After crying a few tears for my friend, I get up and continue to grab things we may need. I find a few granola bars on Amanda's desk and shove them in the small front pocket of backpack along with a couple of books. I then go over to the black mini-fridge positioned next to Amanda's bed and take out the last two remaining water bottles that is in it and store them in the side compartments of my bag. Looking around the room for what I know is the last time. A picture on my bulletin board grabs my attention. It's my favorite photo from a few Christmas' ago. My mother is off to the side, drinking coffee with my late father, my mother with a closed mouth smile, and my father laughing boisterously. On the floor in front of them, you can see me opening a gift with my brother, him with laughter plastered on his face. I sigh again, and shove it in the front pocket of my bag, for safe keeping.

The door slams against the wall and I spin around fast to see Victoria standing in the archway, a look of pure horror and fear on her face. Blood is covering the knife she is holding and dripping onto her hand. The North Face that just minutes ago looked brand new and clean is now stained and one of the sleeves looks to be hanging by a mere thread.

I rush over to her, my own fears getting worse as she screams "We gotta get out of here. Now! Those things are hiding everywhere in this building!"

I can feel my face paling at her comment. I dash back and get the backpack, knowing how much of a danger we are in and hold out one of my sweatshirts to her so that she can change when we get back into the car. _If we get back to the car_, I think.

We head back the same way we came up, stopping to listen for any groans or scuffing on every floor we descend. The journey feels long and more terrifying than when we were at the grocery store. When we hit the ground floor, Victoria comes to a halt making me crash into her.

"What the – why did you" I trail off as I see about five virus filled students shuffling aimlessly around. _Shit!_ One of them, a guy I recognize as someone who used to be in my English class, has his head up, his nose twitching as he sniffs the air. He lets out a loud groan and heads in our direction.

I'm full out panicking as Victoria shoves her arm out and pushes us both against the wall. Her breathing is labored and she moves her head again to look around the wall.

"Shit!" She whisper yells.

"What do we do?"

She pauses for a moment and thinks, her face turned up, her eyes searching the ceiling as if it has all the answers. Finally she turns back to me and in a low voice explains the plan she comes up with. "On the count of three you make a run for it while I try and kill them off."

I open my mouth to say something but am cut off again by her asking me a question. "Do you have the knife I gave you still?"

I look down at my empty hands and look back up to see Victoria looking at the same spot. _Fuck!_

"I must've dropped it when I went to go to the bathroom."

She bites her lip, her eyes filling with anger before swinging around to stab the guy. He goes down in a flash. She moves forward again and calls out "three" while the knife cuts through the "woman" I recognize as my biology tutor.

We're both panting by the time we are able to make a run from the main entrance to the truck. Victoria is soaked through in blood, her hair a mess and face smeared with red. I can barely hear the doors slamming shut and locking, my own heartbeat sounding like a set of obnoxious drums.

Victoria pushes on the small switch forcefully to start the engine and the tires make a loud screech as she reverses and books it towards the exit of the parking lot.

"Take a left out of the parking lot. Go about two miles down, and the Wal-Mart will be on our right." I manage to gasp out, pointing out the window in the direction I'm ordering. She nods, driving down the road until we get to the large store.

We sit there for a moment in silence, getting our breathing back to normal, each of us thinking about what just happened. I can't stop the thoughts of my brother from creeping in. I wonder if I'll ever see him again. Up until this point he was one of the people I relied on most in the world. He is my best friend aside from Victoria of course. I can't help but wish he were here with me. He'd know what to do. He'd be able to help us out and keep us level headed. He was strong like that.

"Let's just grab some shit and get out of here." I hear Victoria mumble before getting out of the truck. I watch her open up the back door and get out another knife from the bag. She hands it to me and gives me a look that says 'if you lose this _I _will kill you.' I take it out of her hand, gripping the handle as tight as I can so I don't end up dropping it.

"This place looks pretty dead. I'm sure there's still some shit left." I say as we make our to the front.

We walk in the front door, listening for moans and looking for any signs of danger before moving to grab a couple of carts so it will be easier to carry out our supplies.

_Nothing. _

How is that even possible? It must have been packed when the outbreak got to this area. I shrug it off, moving towards the grocery aisles. Most of the canned goods are gone, but I do manage to get more than I expect and dump different soups, vegetables and fruit into one of the carts. We stalk up on our favorites. Candy, chips, and what's left in the cereal aisle before veering left out of the aisle and heading back towards the entrance where we see that there is water.

"Anything else left?" Victoria asked as I hand her another 24-pack of water.

"Not much. Some more candy that I think I'm gonna go back and grab and then just a bunch of frozen crap that we won't ever be able to eat again."

She nods, but stills suddenly doing a complete 180 and drawing out her knife that had been tucked away in her jeans.

"What?" I ask.

"I just heard something." She tiptoes forward, her arm extended ready to attack if anything jumps out.

I can't help but roll my eyes at her paranoia. "Victoria," I start. "We've been in this store for over an hour. I think we'd know by now if there was someone in here with us."

"Yeah, we also got to walk through your hallways easy enough going up to get your shit, it was the coming back down that almost got us killed, or do you not remember that?" She retorts sarcastically.

I say nothing, not in the mood to deal with her shit as I push the cart so that I can drop off the items at the truck. We'd been all over this store for the good portion of an hour and nothing or no one has been anywhere in sight.

A laugh brings me to a halt though halfway out the door. I know for a fact Victoria doesn't sound like that. I spin back around confused, only to come face to face with a small child and her mother. They stop in their tracks, smiles wiped off their face as they see Victoria and me staring at them wide-eyed.

Who were these people, and why the hell did we not see or hear them before?

**Duh duh dummm. Well who do you guys think it is? Review and tell us your ideas.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

**Hello our lovely fans! How are you guys all doing? Dino-SOAR and I just wanted to give you all big hugs and kisses for taking the time out of your day to read, review and follow this story. It means a lot! This chapter was fun but difficult to write. Hope you guys enjoy and don't forget to tell us what you think. We love getting your feedback.**

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**Munchkins and donuts,**

**herUSMCdream & Dino-SOAR **

**Victoria POV - **

"Who are they?"

"I told you I heard something!"

The little girl and I exclaim at the same time to the other persons in our group. I watch as the little girl who can't be more than twelve, with pixie cut dirty blond hair and expressive blue eyes, turns her head towards me and shyly smiles, clearly liking my obvious amusement at one upping my best friend. Her mother wraps a protective arm around her shoulders and opens her mouth to speak when there is a loud bellow that comes out of nowhere and from somewhere in the store. The two ladies flinch and the mother's arm tightens around her daughter before we all turn and look in the direction of the voice.

"CAROL? SOPHIA? WHERE THE HELL DID YOU TWO RUN OFF TO?"

Just than a man appears, his face red with anger. He glances right and then left before he finally spots the petite woman and her daughter. He storms towards them, rage weaving off of him in waves. I notice he's mumbling under his breath, his head shaking back and forth with every long stride he takes. Finally reaching the mother and daughter duo, he firmly takes the woman's forearm making her yelp in pain. The arm she has around her daughter's denim clad shoulders drops as she is pulled further into the angry man's body. The little girl steps back some and both Hayley and I meet her halfway so that she is standing between us. I notice Hayley wrap a protective arm around the little girl this time and bend to whisper something in her ear before straightening.

I turn back to the man and woman, my mouth opening in horror as I see the man with his arm extended back until he zings it forward and slaps the woman straight across the mouth. The lady cries out and falls onto the floor, her arms stretched out at the last moment, trying to catch herself, tears already streaming down her face and droplets of blood pooling out of her mouth, as she looks back up at the man and then at us. The man catches her staring and turns to see what she is looking at.

"Who the fuck are you?" he barks, making a move towards us.

"Ed!" The woman grabs his arm, holding it so that he has to pause and look down at her. Even from here I can see her pleading through the same colored eyes as her daughters, not to do us any harm. The man named Ed scoffs at her after a moment and wipes his boot on her side, as if to give a message to her that she's less than him, not an equal.

"Mom!" I hear the little girl yell from my side and instantly put an arm in front of her to stop her from going to them. I couldn't and wouldn't let her get into the drama that was unfolding in front of me.

The man's glare deepens as he turns to face us again, his eyes shooting daggers and I know that what is about to happen between us all isn't going to be pretty.

"Just who the fuck do _you_ think you are?" he yells and I can't help but roll my eyes at how much of an asshole this guy is. If there was ever a good time for a bunch of dead looking, hungry people to come walking through Wal-Mart, it would be now. I could kill this guy with my bare hands for hitting his wife and talking to Hayley and I like we were some new piece of bubblegum stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

"I could ask you the same thing," I snap back.

"That's my daughter! You have no fuckin' right!" He says with confidence.

"After the way you just treated your wife, I feel like I do." I try and stay calm.

"Looks like she's not the only one who needs a slap or two." He says, his voice deep, taking a threatening step in our direction.

"Daddy, don't!" The little girl cries, shoving my arm away and stepping closer to her mother and father. I follow her movement, ready to step in front of her if her father decides to lash out again. "Mommy and I were walking around the store looking for some clothes when we saw them at the door. They aren't doin' anything wrong. They are just here like we are. Trying to make it."

Woah, the kids wise beyond her years. Lord knows she has to be, living with a deadbeat father who beats her mother for shits and gigs.

I cross my arms, raising a thin eyebrow at the man, daring him to find another reason to get upset. His hands ball into fists as he stares at his daughter and I know he is getting ready to take action.

I move my right hand to the zipper of my North Face, lowering it slowly so that I can easily get the knife that is hidden underneath my white T-shirt. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Or what?" he scoffs, taking another step towards us.

I lift the hem of my shirt, revealing the butcher knife stored inside my jeans. His eyes widen and I see a look of fear cross his face before it's replaced by a mask of indifference and hostility. The laugh that leaves his mouth moments later is long and hard. It makes me want to punch him in the face repeatedly until he is black and blue all over and can barely open up his eyes.

"You couldn't hurt a fly even if you wanted to." he lets out between chuckles.

"Wanna bet? I've done a lot worse today." The blood smeared across my jacket should've proved to him that I'm willing to do a lot to keep the ones I love from getting harmed. I look down at my North Face, my eyes scanning the blood on it and then traveling to the right hand that is covering the knife's handle. "Killing you would be easy as pie especially after seeing what you did to your own wife. You deserve to be tied up and beaten. You deserve to rot in hell for the rest of-"

Hayley puts a hand on my arm mumbling a quiet "Victoria." When I look to see what she wants, she nods her head in the direction of Ed and the woman. Ed is visibly shaking out of rage, his nostrils flaring, his fists clenching and unclenching every couple of seconds. Hayley, the little girl and I take a large step back, afraid of what might happen to us if we stay put.

Seconds seem like minutes as we all stand there, holding our breath waiting for Ed to explode. To each of our surprise and relief, Ed storms away in a huff of rage, walking over to a rack filled with sweatshirts. He picks up the metal rod that is in the center of the rack and flings the entire thing across the store before storming away from us.

As soon as he disappears down an aisle, the woman rushes over to the little girl and takes her in her arms. Her body trembles as she hugs the little girl to herself and big fat tears run down her cheeks.

"Mom" the little girl drawls out, trying to pull away from her mother's arms. "I'm okay. He didn't hurt me." I see her hand come up to touch the spot on her lip where there is some dried blood and there seems to be a welt forming. The mother winks and flinches, grabbing her daughter's hand in her own before turning to Hayley and I.

"Who do you think you are? That's my husband!" Carol yells, much to our surprise.

"He just slapped you!" I counter.

"That is none of your business. Two young ladies like yourselves shouldn't be getting involved."

"Are you serious?" Hayley steps in, a look of shock on her face.

Carol blinks a few times, trying to hide the fact that she has tears welling in her eyes again, before turning to walk away.

The next words out of Hayley's mouth surprise us all. "We have to get you two out of here."

Carol stops and turns to look at us again, her daughter attached to her hip.

"No." Carol replies looking at her like she's grown wings and a pigs nose, shaking her head slowly back and forth. "We're fine. He - he's just stressed is all. Ed has his reasons for being like that. It's been a long day."

"No shit it's been a long day!" I exclaim. "The world basically went to shit! You think it's been easy for us? But you don't see me slapping Hayley around!"

Hayley looks at me, raising her eyebrows, a slight look of amusement on her face. "Yeah ok."

"Whatever. The point is, he can't just hit you like that! It's not right!"

Carol takes a deep breath, looking down at her daughter. "Thank you for trying to help, but this isn't your business. We're fine."

"You're not fine!" I practically yell, my eyes darting between mother and daughter. I throw my hands up in the air and then turn to Hayley, making sure that she gets the full effect of my anger. "_They're not fine_!"

"Yes we are." Carol's voice is strong and forceful. "My husband is just stressed."

"How many more times are you going to repeat that sentence before you actually start to believe it?" I say under my breath.

Hayley's foot stomps down on top of mine, making me yelp. She is clearly annoyed at my bluntness but doesn't make a move to disagree with me.

"Look, what my friend here is trying to say is that we don't think it's safe for the both of you to stay. Who knows what can happen next." She tries to explain.

"We aren't leaving without him."

"He just beat you and was about to beat your child if it wasn't for me scaring him!" I yell back.

Sophia's eyes widen at my raised voice and she moves her body so that half of herself is hidden behind her mother. Hayley and I immediately notice this. She lets out a deep sigh and pinches the bridge of her nose out of annoyance.

"I think it's time for us to leave." Carol turns to walk away, tucking her daughter deeper into her side.

"WAIT, please" Hayley pleads, her arm reaching forward so that her hand settles on the top of Carol's shirt sleeve. Carol stops in her tracks, but doesn't take her eyes away from the wall she is currently facing. Hayley looks at me, pleading with her eyes to stay calm and level headed.

I step towards them, taking a deep breath before starting to speak. "We're just worried. Just please think about what we said. Think about the safety of your daughter. I know you love him but is your love that strong that you are too blind to see the danger you're putting her in?" Carol doesn't say anything or move away so I continue. "Just think about it. We'll be here for another ten minutes tops; gathering a few more items and putting the rest of our things into the back of the truck. I hope that's enough time for you to make the right decision."

We all stand there for a moment, lost in thought before Carol pulls her from underneath Hayley's hand and walks away. I see Sophia look back at us once more before they disappear down the same aisle we had seen Ed go down.

As soon as they're gone, Hayley spins towards me, anger flashing in her eyes. "You can't just yell at people like that!"

"I can and I will if it makes a person see that what they're doing to themselves isn't only endangering themselves but other people as well!" I say, using my hands for emphasis.

"And what about that guy, hmmm? The father? You can't just lose your temper on people like him! He could've hurt us like he hurt Carol. Or worse. He could've killed us!"

"I would've never let him do that and you know it. As soon as he realized I was serious about destroying anyone or anything that I feel is a threat he was out of here."

"Well some people won't take your shit Victoria! If you didn't threaten him with your handy dandy fuckin' knife he would've taken you down in an instant! You aren't as strong as you think you are!" She hollers. I watch her as she pinches the bridge of her nose again, taking deep breath to help cool her down.

"I wouldn't have threatened him if I didn't have the knife you dumb fuck! I may be hot headed but I'm certainly not stupid."

"So what, now that you've mercilessly KILLED some sick people you think you can just kill anybody?"

I stare at her for a moment, shocked by her words. "I didn't kill _them_. I saved _you._" I say with strength evident in my voice.

"Yeah well next time you want to be a fuckin' hero, try and think about the possible consequences. What if he had a knife too? Or a gun? You think he would've given a shit about yours?" She says sternly, yet keeping her voice at a normal level.

I don't say anything, too pissed to speak. I can't help but feel a bit offended. I just basically saved all our asses again and she was going to say that type of shit to me? The nerve of her. I mean, _fuck_, we just witnessed him hitting his wife for Christ's sake! Was I really just supposed to sit back and do nothing?

The long, tense pause that settles over us lasts not more than a minute, but it feels like hours before either of us says anything again.

"You think they'll actually come?" I ask.

Hayley doesn't say anything, just pivots and heads back to the cart she left at the front doors. I sigh, shaking my head at her stubbornness. For once, it's me who is following her.


	5. Chapter 5

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**Hayley POV - **

"So what? Now you're all pissy because I stood up for an abused woman?" Victoria complains, glancing at me quickly from the corner of her eye before letting her eyes wander back over to the kitchen supplies.

"It's not about that you and you know it."

There's an awkward silence as she walks a couple of feet away from me and I watch as she reaches out to pick up one of the larger looking kitchen knives, her eyes glinting in slight excitement. I stand to the right of her and pick at my thumb nail with interest.

"I don't understand how you can just stand by and watch someone beat their wife like that." She says, anger in her voice as she places another knife into the bag she had previously picked up while we were walking around the store trying to gather as many useful items will need.

"It's not about that." I repeat calmly, my voice steady as I look up at her.

"Then please, enlighten me." She replies, crossing her arms in front of her chest and giving me her famous bitch brow.

I spin on her, aggravated that she can't see my point. "It's about the fact that you risked us for her and you put both of our lives in danger. We don't even know her, and she didn't even appreciate what you did for God's sake! She actually had the audacity to be mad at us. _Us!_ The people who were trying to help her."

"It's the principle Hayley."

I roll my eyes, going back to picking at my nails again and feigning indifference. "Mmhmm." I am so done with this conversation. Her bull-headedness is just pissing me off.

"Pick a knife." She says, pointing to the limited selection on the shelf.

My eyes widen at the sudden change of topic. "I'm fine with the one I have."

"Will you stop being so fuckin' annoying and just pick a damn knife!"

"I said I was fine with the one I have." I repeat, holding up the one that I took from her house.

"That's not sharp enough. My mother's been using it in the kitchen for months and it hasn't been sharpened since she brought it home. It's gonna be useless in a week at the rate we're killing these things."

"I don't want a sharper one. I like this one. It fits in my hand quite nicely actually," I lie, attempting to fit the large handle in my tiny hand.

Her eyes narrow. "Bullshit. You just want an excuse so you can't kill any of those things. You do realize you'll have to do it eventually. I can't hold them all off at once" She says, grabbing at a few more knives she has taken a liking to off the shelf.

I sigh, knowing that she's right. Looking at the knives she's left on the shelf I pick up the first one I see. It turns out be a small butcher knife and I immediately like the feeling and fit of it in my hand. When I close my fingers around the handle I notice how perfect this one actually does feel.

My mind starts to wander as I continue to look down at the gleaming knife in my hand and I can't help but think about how only hours before Victoria and I were on top of a snow bank, laughing and gossiping and now, here I am, in Wal-Mart, picking out knives for protection from people who have some virus?

God my mother had that virus. Had being the keyword since Victoria killed her. And now I don't even know where TJ is or even if he's okay. Hell, what if Matthew, one of my closest friends and dealer. My frown deepens as I think of the weed I left back in my dorm room.

Victoria's white and pink tennis shoes squeaking against the floor jumps me out of my depressing thoughts and I look up to see her walking away. I rush to follow her, not taking long to catch up and walking in unison with her.

"So you think they'll come with us?" Victoria asks again.

"I don't know," I shrug. "Probably not. She didn't seem very open to the idea."

She nods once, a look of sadness crossing her face most likely for the little girl who we both know doesn't have a fighting chance with parents like hers.

We walk past the indoor sub shop and I inhale deeply, hoping I can still smell the delicious sandwiches they were probably making not more than twelve hours ago. My shoulders sag as all I can smell is rotting blood. I gag and look in the direction I smell it. My best friend is the source of the nasty. How did I not notice it before?

"You smell gross." I say, trying not to breathe through my nose.

She lifts up her armpit and sniffs. "No I don't! Bitch!" She laughs, gently hitting me on the arm.

"No. I'm serious. You're covered in the sick people's blood!" I say, pointing to her North Face and jeans and the slight blood droppings that is around her neck.

"Ew." She says, looking down at herself. "I guess I should go change and wash up huh?"

"You guessed right. I have to go the bathroom anyway." I say, very aware of the size of my bladder all of sudden.

We veer right and head towards the woman's section of the store. Victoria makes work in quickly grapping a black T-shirt and a cute pair of denim jeans that come with a black belt. I silently wait for her to find her sizes and then walk next to her as we keep our eyes peeled ahead looking for the sign that reads bathroom.

"There!" I say, pointing to the dangling blue and white sign at the back of the store, to the left of the electronics.

As we start to head in the direction the signs are telling us, I hear a small voice.

"Mommy?" She whimpers.

Both Victoria and I turn our heads in the direction of the voice, seeing the little girl looking for her mother desperately.

"Hey" Victoria says running up to her with me not too far behind. "What's wrong?" She asks, seeing the fear in the little girl's eyes.

"I can't find my Mommy." She replies with no more explanation on how she lost her. She clearly doesn't trust us even if we did try and help her and her mother out.

"We'll help you find her." Victoria says as I see her grab her hand.

She nods, her posture rigid. I can tell she is slightly skittish and doesn't want our help but when Victoria starts to walk forward to start the search for her mother, the little girl doesn't protest.

After a few minutes of walking up and down deserted aisles, dodging the trash that litters the floor and calling out Carol's name we finally hear a reply from not too far away.

"Sophia!" Carol hollers with anguish coming around the corner of one of the baby aisles, her eyes looking all over the place for her daughter. I notice Sophia perk up when she spots her mother, her hand dropping from Victoria's and sprinting towards her.

"Carol! Over here." Victoria yells trailing at a slower pace behind the running girl.

"Momma!" Sophia yells running straight into to Carol's outstretched arms.

Carol gasps as she drops to her knees, hugging her tightly, seeming as if she'll never let go. "Thank you." She says when she sees us stopped in front of her.

I just smile in return.

"Where did you find her?" She asks, standing up with Sophia still wrapped in her thin arms.

"We were headed to the bathroom and we heard her calling out for you." I explain.

"Momma, I have to pee too." Sophia says, looking up at her mother with a strained face.

Carol purses her lips. "Let me go tell Ed." She says, taking Sophia's hand and leading her down the aisle across from us, where I see Ed in the distance rummaging through the video games that are on the shelves.

I can feel Victoria's eye roll.

After a moment of talking to Ed, I see Carol point over to us. He glares at us from where he stands but then grumbles something and turns his back on all of us, dismissing Carol and their daughter. They turn, Carol visibly upset, and walk back towards us. Apparently it was okay if she took her daughter to the bathroom.

It was my turn to roll my eyes.

"Ready?" Victoria asks, forcing a smile at Carol. She nods and we all turn to walk in uncomfortable silence to the bathrooms, none of us knowing what to say. Even Sophia seems to feel the tension.

"We'll take the men's." Victoria says politely. I can't help but have a look of disgust on my face. The men's room. Seriously?

Carol smiles and looks down at her daughter. "Thank you." She says as she goes to open the door.

I see Victoria smile back, although I can tell it's fake as she goes to open the door, the sleeve to her North Face over her hand so she doesn't have to touch the handle. She gives Carol one more forced smile before turning to me and showing me the full force of her resentment about the whole thing. I hear her audibly inhale, her breathing stopping so she doesn't have to smell the inside of the bathroom right away. She pulls the door open and I hear Carol gasp at the same time I do.

I look over to her to see the contents of her bathroom filled with the same things as ours. Inside there are more sick people, groaning, and shuffling. When they hear the door open all their bodies turn towards us and start shuffling over to us.

I hear Sophia scream from next to me and notice them immediately picking up their pace. Clearly any form of noise attracts them. This will be a good piece of information to inform Victoria later if we actually make it through this battle.

By the time all the shock of seeing them has run through all of our systems, it's too late to shut the doors. They're now in the archway and we try and back away. I spot four on our side. I try and see how many there is but I can't tell. All I know is it's more than we can handle.

Victoria quickly draws her knife, and barks at me to do the same. I hold up the one that she made me pick out only minutes ago, my hand vibrating out of fear. My blood is racing through my veins and I can't think with clearly, my nerves and adrenaline getting in the way. I stand there as I see Victoria take one out with a stab to the head. The sick lady drops.

Sophia lets out another scream and I see Carol and her are now backed up against a wall, Carol's body in front of Sophia protectively. A sick person is on top of them, but to my surprise Carol is holding it back far enough so its mouth isn't too close to her as she calls out for me to help. Sophia is crying loudly and I know I should help them but I just don't know how. Everything's moving too fast for me to process and my feet feel like they are super glued to the floor. I can't seem to get them to move no matter how hard I try.

Loud footsteps pound from the way we came and I'm too much in shock to look right away. Oh God, I hope it's not more of them. There are already too many for Victoria to handle. I feel my breaths coming quicker. I'm not made for this world. My eyes squeeze tightly shut, hoping that when I open them it'll all be just a nightmare and I'll be safely back in my dorm room with Amanda.

Seconds later I pry them open and see the sick one still trying to get to Carol's neck. I quickly look around, and see Ed closing in on us. My arm extends as I try and hand him the knife to handle the situation when he's close enough.

He shoves it away, "I don't need yer' damn butter knife." He growls and moves towards his wife and daughter, taking the sick persons head and slamming it into the wall behind them with his bare hands. I gasp as the person's blood begins to spill all over the wall and Carol and Sophia scurry out of the way.

I look back at Victoria and see she's taking down the last one that was on our side. She turns and see's the last three behind Ed. She moves forward to kill the next one. Before I can process that she's basically killed them all on her own, I hear a deep howling.

I look back to Ed, so busy killing the first one he was too busy to notice the few behind him. One had bitten him fiercely on the shoulder, ripping out a large chunk of his flesh, blood and skin spilling onto the rest of his body.

Victoria runs over, killing the remaining sick ones and the one still chomping on Ed. Ed collapses to the floor, clutching his bleeding shoulder. I hear Carol screaming and see her scurrying towards Ed, dropping to her knees, her hands raised over his broken bloody body not wanting to touch him.

I caused this. I caused the anguish of a family.

I don't notice how I'm barely breathing at this point. I feel like I'm gasping for breath. My body is trembling and I'm beyond scared. I don't know what to do or think. I could've helped Carol and Sophia and instead they were nearly killed because they had to wait for Ed. What kind of person am I? I can't focus. My world starts to fade and the last thing I see before everything fades to black is Victoria's panicked expression.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:**

**I (herUSMCdream) don't want to write a paragraph worth of an author's note because I'm really excited for you guys to read it so I'll leave you guys with a couple facts. **

**This is our longest chapter so far. YAYYYY! :D**

**Victoria and Hayley figure out a couple of things that they've been missing throughout their journey so far**

**You guys are the best for reading and reviewing this story!**

**Hope you guys enjoy it. **

**Matzo Balls and Easter Eggs,**

**herUSMCdream & Dino-SOAR**

**Victoria's POV - **

'You have got to be fucking kidding me right now! I am so over this shit', I can't help but think as my knife slices through another sick person's head, the sound of crunching skull and slurping brains ringing in my ears. My foot kicks out, driving it into the sick teenager's stomach as I push him back at the same time hurrying to free the blade from his eye socket, not even waiting to see him go down before I'm onto the next deathly sick one.

The groaning coming from the gray-ish skinned, pale eyed, heavyset man in front of me makes me even angrier. How many more of these fucking things would I have to kill by myself? I feel my nostrils flare as the adrenaline that courses through me escalates. I lunge towards him, my feet barely touching the ground as my arm extends forward with a force I didn't realize I had, and pushes the knife straight into the middle of his forehead. Blade penetrating through bone makes the now dead fat man slink towards me instantly and I have to jump out of the way so that he doesn't fall onto me.

The movements of stab, move right, or stab, move left, continues for the better portion of four minutes. I spin after killing the remaining men on our side of the door and turn to see both Sophia and Carol pressed with their backs against one of the white walls as Ed brutally beats the shit of some sick one, blood flying everywhere with every blow to the head he does.

I make a move towards Ed, seeing one of the sick people starting to shuffle towards him, but I'm too late. The scream that rips through his mouth pierces my ears is loud and painful and I can't take my eyes away from the commotion taking place in front of me. One of the sick ones is scratching Ed, sinking her chipped nails into the skin of his neck and ripping through it, making blood shoot out and poor down his back while another one approaches at a fast pace, their lips curling back so that she has easier access. Another loud scream comes out of him, as they both start to feed on the point where shoulder meets neck.

I'm left in total shock for a moment before reality comes crashing back to me and I rush over to kill the first two eating away at Ed, before diving for the last one heading towards Hayley.

Panting and standing between the small family behind my best friend and I, my immediate thought is to spin around and help out with Ed but I know the bite on his neck is bleeding uncontrollably and there is no way he is going to make it through the rest of the evening, let alone the next five minutes. The only thing that I can do at this point is hope that he will pass soon and peacefully so that I can get the rest of us out of here and back to the confines of the truck.

Carol's cries of agony are the only sound in the room. I look to my best friend to see how she is and my brows immediately furrow. I notice that she is frozen to the spot I left her in when we first saw the sick people, her face showing her complete and utter fear. I see Hayley start to sway, her eyes glossing over. My decision is made for me when she starts to slump backwards and I race to her side, catching her just in time before she falls to the floor and can hit her head.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, _shit_! This can't be happening right now. Am I the only one who thinks this day can't get any worse? Fuck, I probably shouldn't have thought that because I'm pretty sure it can and will. _Fuck!_

Sinking down to my knees with Hayley still in my arms, I look over her to see if she has any scratches or bruises. I sigh in relief when I don't notice anything on her porcelain skin and let my eyes wander to her chest to make sure that she is still breathing. Her breaths are steady and I relax even more as I realize that she just fainted. It is clearly evident that Hayley is not meant for this new world we have currently find ourselves in, but she is going to have to adjust _and soon_. I can't be the only one who takes these fuckers down by myself. I needed her help, especially since I have a strong feeling that a couple more people would be joining us now. And they definitely don't seem capable of killing anyone anytime soon.

I start shaking her, lightly slapping at her face to get her to wake up. I'm about to lick my finger to give her a wet willie when her eyelids start to flutter and she comes to not a minute later, confusion clear in her eyes when they pop open.

"Don't you dare ever pull that shit again, Maltzy!" I mock yell at her when she looks back at me.

She sits up slowly, my hands going out to help steady her. "What happened?"

I see her eyes wander my face before moving past me and scanning the damage that's behind me. I frown, before turning my head to look at the scene she's currently looking at. There is fifteen to twenty lifeless bodies all around us, each one of them bleeding out, their limbs distorted and at awkward angels. To the left of me, Carol is hunched over a lifeless Ed, her body trembling and shaking from the force of her crying. I turn back to see Hayley following my gaze, her eyes misting over with tears.

"Is he dead?" She asks softly. I sigh, knowing that he's gone, and thankfully it was quick, but can't help but feel bad for Carol and Sophia.

I nod at Hayley, and I see a tear fall from her eye as a strangled sob exits her mouth. "It's my fault."

"What?" I ask, lost at why she would even think that let alone voice it aloud.

Her voice is strained as she explains. "I killed Ed."

I almost laugh at the ridiculous response but stop myself as I see that she really does think she's the cause of Ed's death.

"Hayley-" I start, but am cut off by her shaking her head and getting up quickly.

"Don't." She says, not looking at me any longer.

"It's not your fault. It was going to happen anyway. He didn't even have a weapon."

She shakes her head silently, another tear rolling down her face. I hear her sniffle softly as she walks around the corner. I sigh, following her, to see she's leaning up against the wall, head in her hands.

"What kind of person am I?" She asks, mostly to herself.

"Hayley, it's not-" I start again, but am interrupted by her walking past me, clearly not wanting to hear what I have to say. I sigh again, but don't follow her this time. I know it's pointless right now to try and comfort her.

I go back towards Carol, not knowing what to say to Hayley as I see her watching us from a distance away out of the corner of my eye, anguish clear in her own. For what feels like the hundredth time today, I wonder what we would be doing if it was just like any normal Saturday.

My thoughts are suddenly cut off by Carol's loud gasp and I turn to see her looking down at Ed, her trembling hand covering her mouth as she stares down at him. I follow her gaze, my brows drawing together as I notice Ed's eyes fluttering and his fingers slowly moving.

"Ed?" Carol whispers, her hands going down to settle over his cheeks. "Ed, can you hear me?"

She jumps back as he grabs at her, his teeth barred as he growls loudly and makes a move to bring her back down to him so that he can latch onto her neck. She struggles against him, and I'm moving in a flash, picking up the blood stained knife that I dropped when I went to catch Hayley. I run over, the blade extended in front of me and in a movement that's so quick, drop to my knees and shove it down so that it punctures his temple, making his movements stop and Carol collapse on top of him sobbing quietly and gasping for breath. I pull the knife out, dumping it onto the floor where it makes a loud clatter on the white speckled ground and sink further down onto my knees, my head dropping into my bloodied hands as I try to process what the hell just happened.

I think I'm going into shock or something because nothing is making sense anymore. What the fuck just happened? I could've sworn that Ed was dead and now I see him coming back to life as one of the sick people? I'm clearly dreaming. This shit can't be happening. Can it? Can people really come back from the dead? Is that what this virus does to you? Make you come alive and want to harm others? Then again, it is Ed. From what I've witnessed he is an asshole that jacks off to the sound of his fists meeting his wife's face, or stomach, or anything else he can lay them on.

But none of this explains how he could've come back to life. He was dead. The sick people had made him bleed out. Even now I can see that he is lying in his own pool of blood. My mind is at a loss at what I just witnessed and I know we have to leave as soon as possible before we open up any more doors that just happen to have more of those things in it.

"Is that how it happens?" Hayley whispers from behind me.

"Jesus," I say jumping, my heart pounding in my chest as I twist my upper body and slap her lightly on the thigh. "Don't fucking sneak up on me like that, especially when I have a butcher knife in my hand."

"Sorry," she replies before asking again, "is that how it happens?"

"I don't know." I shrug, turning to stare at Ed. "I guess."

"So they're dead already?"

"I think so." God this all sounds so fuckin' insane but I can't help but feel hopeful, that this is really what causes them to be like they are. It feels like a huge weight is lifting off my shoulders knowing I'm not killing living people.

"We have to get out of here." I finally say, looking back up at Hayley, her face as white as a ghost and her breathing shallow as her eyes travel over Ed. Our eyes meet for a brief second and I can see how scared she really is before I look away, facing Carol and Sophia once again. Sophia has her hand on her mother's hunched back, her own small body shaking as she too cries silently over the loss of her father.

When no one responds I force myself to be the first to stand up, brushing off the dirt from my knees and slowly walk over to Carol and Sophia, my heart going out to them as I see how much pain losing Ed is causing them. I make a move to touch Carol once I reach her but bring it back when I realize I have no clue how I'm supposed to get either of them away from the corpse. I sigh in frustration, my head shaking back and forth and stuff a dirty fingernail in my mouth out of annoyance. A second later I take it out, making a disgusted face at the horrible taste.

Fuck! Why the hell did I always have to be the one to do the hard shit? Couldn't Hayley do it for once? First I have to kill all the dead people, and now comfort the grieving wife and daughter of one of them? How the hell am I supposed to do that?

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK! Has it really only been a day since the world has officially come to an end, because it feels like it's already been months. I reach out to Carol again, my hand trembling and my bottom lip firmly placed between my teeth. When I touch her shoulder, she immediately stiffens, her breath catching. I guess that was my que to start talking.

"Carol?" I start, my voice low and steady though the rest of my body feels like it's vibrating. "Carol, we have to leave."

She looks up at me, tears running down her face as she responds. "I'm not leaving Ed."

I try and hide my frustration with the whole ordeal as I try to keep my voice the same pitch. "Carol, I know this is hard for you but-"

"Don't you dare act like you know what I'm going through! You know nothing about me. About us! I loved him, I love him." She finishes before a loud sob comes out of her mouth. I look to Hayley, pleading with my eyes to help me out. She stares between the three of us for a moment before nodding her head in acknowledgement and pulling herself up to stand straighter.

"Carol," Hayley says in a calming voice.

"No."

"Carol, it's not-" she tries again.

"I said no!" Carol yells making Hayley flinch and my temper rise.

My voice is just as loud and angry as Carol's as I feel my temper rising from her rudeness and I don't wait for Hayley's response as I say, "Fine. But we're leaving. And without us, you're going to have to be the one to handle _those things_ from your daughter."

"Victoria we can't just-" Hayley starts, but she's cut off by me raising a hand and silencing her.

"We're leaving now. You're welcome to come with us if you want." I say, not making eye contact with any of them as I make a move to leave.

I see Carol's eyes narrow at me, the tension so thick in the room it's almost suffocating. She seems to be arguing with herself in her head before she sighs.

"Can I just have a moment with him?" She asks desperately, after a minute of awkward silence.

I see Hayley nod her head and we both walk over to where I had dropped the clothes at the far end of bathroom hallway trying to give them some privacy. Picking them up, I make sure that there are no bloodstains or too much dirt on them from getting walked on before I brush them off with the palm of my hand and peek into the bathroom closest to me so that I can change into the clothes before we leave. The stench of the dried blood is starting to make me gag so I make quick work of ripping off my soiled clothes and dressing into the new ones. Once I'm finished pulling up my jeans I open up the stall door, my sneakers under one arm as I try and put the silver part into one of the holes of the buckle. I look up once I've completed the task and walk over to the sink where I see Hayley is scrubbing at her hands furiously.

"Are you alright?" I ask her as I turn the water on in the sink as hot as it goes, before grabbing a few pieces of paper towel and wetting them so I can wash the blood as best as I can off my neck and face.

I see her nod her head a couple of times from her reflection in the mirror but she doesn't reply, her right hand now rubbing at her forearm fiercely.

I shut off the water and turn to her, my hand covering hers so that she has to stop. When she looks up, her eyes meeting my own, I tried to convey to her without saying anything that she can tell me what's going on through that pretty brown haired head of hers.

She lets out a deep breath, her head shaking back and forth, her lip slightly trembling as she finally understands. "No I'm not okay. The world is shitting the bed and I have no clue what to do or how to survive. I saw you kill my mother with a knife to the back of the head and I have no clue where TJ is. If he is even alive or if I should be mourning for him too. I'm scared and all I want to do right now is be in my room, smoking some weed before masturbating and falling asleep!"

Her shoulders visibly shake as she tries to control herself from not sobbing. I don't know what to say or do so I say the first thing that comes to mind. "It's going to be alright Maltzy. I won't let anything happen to you, I pinky promise." I hold up my pinky finger and see her lips curve into a tiny smile, her hand reaching out so that she can connect her pinky to mine.

Carol walks in the bathroom a minute later with Sophia's small hand clutching hers while I dry my newly cleaned ones on a dry paper towel. _Fuck, how it feels good to be somewhat clean again. _They give both Hayley and I a wobbly smile before we all start towards the front of the store, our eyes and ears straining to make sure there isn't any other strange movements or sounds in the building.

My truck is just where I left it when we get to the parking lot, and I open up one of the back doors to get out my mother's backpack so that it can sit in the front between Hayley and me. I know it will be a lot easier for me to reach the knives if we did happen to get into anymore trouble instead of having to turn and rummage around, praying that the first thing our hand lands on is a blade. Lord knows that getting into trouble is bound to happen with the luck all of us seem to be carrying.

I start the car, pushing the button I saw Hayley push and speed to the entrance, not even bothering to look both ways as I make a sharp turn left and back onto the main road.

"Where are we going?" I hear Sophia ask.

"First to a gas station to fill up, then we're heading south." I answer, my lips tightening as I'm hit with the realization that this may be the last time I'm ever in Massachusetts again.

"South?" Carol repeats dumbfounded.

"Yup." I say curtly, still kind of annoyed by her behavior towards us at Wal-Mart. My hands wrap tighter where they are placed over the steering wheel and my foot going down on the gas pedal a bit more. How I love that I can now speed since there are no cops around to pull me over and ream me a new one. I guess that's just about the _only_ good reason about the world going to shit.

"Why south?" I hear Carol ask.

Hayley can see my change in emotions and starts to explain as I pull into the first gas station I see. "There is a CDC somewhere in Georgia – " Her voice is cut off by my door slamming shut so that I can fill up both my gas tank and the four large red buckets in the back. Once I'm done filling both the F-150 and the buckets, I strain to put them back into the bed of the truck, feeling like 90 lb. dumbbells are in each hand. As soon as they're all settled into place, I move back to the driver's side door and open it, the car dead silent. I look back to see Sophia sound asleep, her head in her mother's lap as Carol looks down at her, a sad expression on her face.

"You might want to fall asleep too," I say to Carol.

"I don't think I could sleep even if I tried." She looks up from watching her daughter sleep to give me a forced smile.

"Well try," I say before turning back around and putting the car into drive.

I look to Hayley once more and see her staring at me, her head shaking back and forth slowly as if to say 'shut the fuck up and stop being a bitch.' I shrug, giving her my full attention and showing her the emotions that are coursing through me. The longer I stare at her, the more I see that every emotion I'm feeling, she is as well. Dread and hope mixed in with annoyance and other emotions I can't seem to identify. I wonder which one she's feeling more of. I pray its hope. She needs some hope. I sigh, knowing that I could use some too. But as we start our journey towards Georgia, I can't help but feel dread settle into the pit of my stomach and wonder how the fuck the world ever got this bad so quickly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Note:**

**Hola everyone! Just want to point out one MAJOR thing we'll be changing. We've decided that people will ONLY be infected once bit or scratched. Not everyone is infected. KEEP THIS IN MIND!**

**Green Eggs & Jellybeans,**

**Dino-SOAR & herUSMCdream**

**Hayley POV – **

"You're not talking."

"I'm tired."

"Bullshit."

"No bullshit over here." I insist, adding in a fake yawn to make it more believable as I watch the passing scenery out my window.

I hear Victoria sigh harshly, and look over to see her biting at one of her fingers nails as she stares at the road in front of her.

"Stop that!" I whisper yell, slapping at her hand before I look over my left shoulder and into the back seat to see that Sophia and Carol are both in a deep slumber. Good, they both needed it. _I_ need it. But no matter how many times I try to close my eyes, my mother's lifeless face keeps popping into my brain making it near impossible to fall asleep.

"Why won't you talk to me?" She asks, harassing me once again.

"I just don't want to talk, dude." I reply turning back to look out the window as my voice slightly cracks.

"Hayley" she starts softly, putting her hand on my upper arm. "Talk to me. What's up?"

I shake my head not knowing if I can even speak right now with the huge lump I feel rising in my throat. My stomach turns, and I feel like at any moment I will have to yell at Victoria to pull over so that I can throw up.

"Stop bottling Maltzy, you know that's what I do. Now speak!" She says firmly, her voice holding a slight edge.

At that I explode, my voice higher and harsher than I originally planned it to be as I glare at her. If looks could kill, she'd definitely be dead by now. "Everything is wrong! I'm never going to see my mother again and the last memory I'll ever have of her is my best friend stabbing her in the back of the head. How would you feel?"

I see her flinch, her knuckles turning white as she grips the steering wheel and her face turning red in both embarrassment and shame but she doesn't respond, instead she just keeps her eyes on the road, her bottom lip going in between her teeth. When I notice that she isn't going to respond I decide to continue with my rant, not giving a shit at how bad it sounds coming out of my mouth. "I don't even know how I'm gonna tell Joe that my best friend killed his girlfriend. I don't know how we're going to survive in this new world or even if we will. And I don't even know where TJ is. I don't think I can do this without him. He's all I have left." I whisper towards the end, afraid that if I speak too loudly, I'll cry.

"I didn't have a choice." She finally says after a long pause.

I don't say anything back to that. My eyes wander over my nails and I start picking at one of my pointer fingers, too pissed and emotional to respond properly.

She sighs changing the topic from my mother and onto my brother. "He's ok, Hayley. He made it. I know he did."

"Pinky promise?" I hold out my pinky finger.

She looks at it for a moment, before exhaling deeply and turning her eyes back to the road. "I can't do that."

"Knew it." I mumble, nodding my head and going back to picking at my nail before continuing. "Honestly dude, all I really want right now is smoke a fucking blunt. Legit. I know it's pathetic, but I miss my weed."

Victoria chuckles softly, "Oh Hayley, you're such a fuckin' pothead. You're nearly crying over _weed_." She says, and I can sense the humor in her voice. I smile before she continues. "Besides, you don't think I don't think about my family? Wonder where my parents are or what my brother is doing? I'm petrified that I'll never see them again. You aren't the only one who feels like the world is literally crashing down all around 'em."

I look out the window, thinking of her brother Corey, who is like a second brother to me and her parents, who always welcome me into their home with a comforting a hug, as we pass a sign saying we've entered New Jersey. What should've only been a three and a half hour drive became a seven hour one as soon as we hit the highway. The piled cars are so thick that it seems like we only travel an inch every five minutes.

"Will shit ever get better? Honestly? Like, most of my family is dead, maybe even all of them. You don't even know where yours is. And we're stuck with a useless wife of a deadbeat and their lanky as shit daughter. Let's face it; we're screwed." I finish, looking back over to Victoria .

"Don't say that. We have to have hope. My family's alive. And they have TJ and they're going to meet us at the CDC where we'll all live happily-ever-after."

I sigh, with a small smirk playing on my lips at her trying to fain optimism. "You don't really believe that and we both know it."

She yawns in response, and I notice for the first time I see how truly tired and exhausted she really is from the day's events.

"Want to switch?" I offer.

She shakes her head. "No. I'm ok. We'll find somewhere in Delaware to stop so we can all get some sleep." A moment later, I hear her speak again. "The cars are gettin' harder to avoid." She says, pointing out the fact that we're now basically maneuvering through a graveyard and driving over toys and clothes. The highway we're on had clearly been overrun sometime today. Cars are everywhere, strewn about, left by their owners that were most likely trying to drive away last minute until someone else blocked them and killed their chances. Car doors are wide open, with dead bodies inside, blood covering backpacks, blankets, and random pieces of clothing. I look back to see that there is no one following us and then turn around and notice that it's the same thing in front of us. Creepy. We're the only people left on this highway alive.

"We can drive around it." I say, not really believing it myself but saying it simply to please her.

"I have no doubt we can." She replies, confidence evident in her voice, clearly catching on to my non-believing.

"It's kind of like 9/11." I say, thinking aloud. "Eerie, with death in the air."

"You're eerie." She mumbles sarcastically. I roll my eyes, and can feel the tension between us, not sure of where it's coming from.

"You ok?" I ask, mumbling.

"What?"

"Are you ok? It's been a long couple of days."

"It's been less than fifteen hours." She says, looking at the clock that reads 11:53 in bright green.

"Exactly my point."

"Yeah. I'm just…" she looks for the right word, "confused. Everything happened so quickly. I don't know where to start. Like yeah, we're driving down to the CDC, but what happens if that's not a valid option? What happens then? Where do we go?"

"Maybe a military base? More south? D.C?" I list off a few options.

She bites her lip again, seeming to not like any of those ideas, before she turns to me with a grin on her face.

"What?"

"D.C. is North, not _more south_, dipshit." She says, laughter in her voice.

I roll my eyes and think for another moment before speaking. "If the CDC is a no-go, I'm going to find TJ."

Her crooked smile is immediately washed away by words. "We need to think smart, Maltzy. And that's not it."

"I don't care. I'll go on my own if I have to. I have to find him."

Victoria sighs, shaking her head at what she clearly thinks is my stupidity while moving the truck around an old gray and chipped blue Cadillac, or in other words, an old fashioned pimp-mobile. "You don't stand a chance alone."

"I don't care. I need to make an effort. At least I'll die doing what I feel like needed to be done for me. My family."

She doesn't say anymore, but I can tell it'll be an argument for the future. We come up on a roadblock again, but this time it doesn't seem we'll be able to get by.

"Try and go around that way." I say, pointing towards the right of the pile of cars.

"I am." She says, annoyance in her voice. She swings the truck around the pile-up of cars and hits a small pothole, bouncing the cab of the truck, waking up Carol and Sophia in turn. Victoria looks in her rearview mirror at them, smiling politely, her face turning a slight shade of red again.

"Sorry. Hit a pothole. You guys can go back to sleep if you want." She offers.

"No, it's ok. I'm awake now." Carol says. I turn in my seat to see her rubbing her hands across her eyes, clearing the sleep from them.

"How's Sophia doing?" I ask with remorse, knowing the feeling of losing a father. Looking down at the small girl, I see that she is curled up in a ball, her head still in her mother's lap and I can't help but pray that she is dreaming about rainbows and puppies.

Carol doesn't answer me at first and when I look up at her I notice that her bottom lip is trembling and she is also staring at her daughter. I turn back to the front to give her some privacy and time to compose herself. I can't even imagine what she must be going through.

"I think it'll just take some time adjusting. She'll be fine though. We'll both be fine." She says not even a minute later, certainty and hope in her voice.

We're all quiet for the next couple of hours; the only sounds in the truck are the soft snores coming from Sophia and the eventual deep breaths of Carol finally falling back asleep. Victoria looks like she can barely keep her eyes open with every second that passes and I'm surprised that we are both still up after the long day we've endured.

I let out a deep sigh as I finally see the "Welcome to Delaware, Home of Tax-Free Shopping" and thank the Heavens above because my bladder has been screaming at me for the past forty-five minutes.

"Are we gonna stop soon? I gotta piss."

"Hayley!" Victoria exclaims. "Language!"

"Seriously? You're gonna bitch at me for saying 'piss' when every other word out of your mouth is the f-bomb?"

She makes a disgusted sound before replying, "Whatever. We have a child in the car now."

"Are we gonna stop soon? I have to _pee_" I say, rolling my eyes and putting emphasis on the last word.

"Yeah let me just find a spot where I'm comfortable to let you out and fall asleep."

Ten minutes later, and only twenty feet from where she last spoke, Victoria finally turns the car onto the breakdown lane where there is only one or two lone cars and parks the truck, shutting it off completely once she's done. I jump out, ignoring the strewn about cars, and run towards the edge of the woods, too afraid that one of those things will find and bite me if I go in any further. I glance around me just to make sure, before quickly pushing my jeans down and squatting, letting out what feels like a day and a half worth of water. Once I've relieved myself, I make fast work in pulling up and fastening the button on my jeans, walking back towards the only home I now know of.

Victoria and Carol are bickering when I manage to finally find the handle to the door and open it. I look in the back to see Sophia clutching one of her mother's hands and rubbing at her eye with a tiny fist. Carol is glaring at Victoria, obviously not liking what she has to say.

"No. We're resting for a few hours." I hear my best friend say in her non-negotiable tone.

"I can drive." Carol insists.

"Look, Carol, it's nothing personal, but I really don't know you all that well yet."

I get back into the passenger seat, close my door and sigh, already knowing who will win this fight.

"I've been sleeping a while; I can drive a few hours." Carol says again.

I roll my eyes and then close them, trying to block out the two women. Carol should just give up already. Victoria was going to win this no matter what.

"When I sleep, we all sleep, ok?" I hear Victoria snap. Wow, what a fucking nut job.

Both her and Carol let out an annoyed sigh, and I hear a lot of movement coming from both next to me and behind me before the truck is quiet. I don't have time to process the awkward silence between us all before I'm sound asleep and dreaming about happier days.

**REMINDER: Please read the authors note in the beginning of the chapter for important information about the story or else you'll be quite confused in future chapters.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:**

**Okay guys, sorry that this chapter is so short but hey, that just means next chapter is going to be so much longer (we hope)! Now you guys are probably wondering where the hell Shane and Daryl are already but bare with us. We are only a few short chapters away until they grace us with their manly, protective, badass glory! With that said, enjoy my fellow fans!**

**Penis' and Penguin Brains,**

**herUSMCdream & Dino-SOAR **

**Victoria POV -**

It seems like only seconds after closing my eyes that I'm woken up feeling a presence hovering over me. My eyes snap open in an instant and I see a small dark skinned child hovering above me, his skinny arm reaching past me and disrupting the knives and clothes that are in my black leather bag.

My hand quickly snatches his wrist and I hear a loud gasp escape his mouth, his head whipping around and his dark brown eyes meeting mine as he stumbles back and tries to wretch it from me. I lean forward, about to ask why he thinks it's alright to try and steal people's things when I hear a noise coming from back of the truck. I turn to see a man and a woman; both look to be in their early forties, the woman walking around the bed ,stopping and starting to hand the man one of the red buckets filled with fuel.

"Just what the fuck do you think you're doing?" I scream, jumping out of my feet and storming over to them, my hands curled into fists as I stop mere inches away from the two strangers. They're both frozen in place, their eyes wide and mouths opening and closing like a fish.

The dark skinned man and woman both give each other scared and confused glances before they both turn back to me. The man is the first one to speak. "Hey." He says, stepping in front of his wife protectively, his deep voice, authoritative. He beckons the child over with his hand, and the boy quickly obliges.

"Can I help you?" I ask, anger in my voice.

"I'm so sorry." The woman says her voice kind and gentle. "We thought…" She trails off, sighing.

The man takes over now. "We thought you were dead. Not many survivors 'round this area."

I watch as the man hands back the red bucket to the woman and see her having just as much trouble lifting it into the bed of my truck, if not more, than I did when I put them back there in the first place. Good, serves her right for trying to steal about twenty gallons worth of gas plus who knows what else if I didn't wake up when I did.

Two doors opening and closing behind me help me decide on what to say next.

"Clearly" I start; waiting for whom I'm guessing is my best friend and Carol to come around to where I am, "we're very much alive."

The woman drops down from the truck, her feet making a loud thump. She wraps a protective arm around what I can only assume to be their son.

I look between the three, not knowing what to do or say next when again the man breaks the silence.

"Morgan" he says pointing to himself, "and this is my wife Jenny and our son Duane. I'm very sorry we startled you. Just tryin' to survive. We thought you were dead and we've been on the road for about five or so days now and haven't seen any survivors after the second."

"Five or six days?" I hear Hayley ask from my left. "What? This all just happened."

Morgan's eyebrows furrow, his face showing his confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Yesterday, Victoria" She points to me, "and I went home to my mother attacking me and her parents and brother missing, her entire neighborhood quiet as can be, and to a bunch of dead people trying to eat us. We found Carol and her daughter Sophia at one of the stores we stopped at along the way." She finished, pointing to the skinny, gray haired mother.

"Only yesterday? How is that possible? The outbreak has been going on for at least a week." Jenny interjects.

I turn to look at Hayley and then Carol, confused at what I just heard. How _is_ that possible? And why the fuck didn't we know about it? Then again, it's kind of is understandable why I didn't know. The only time I actually watched or listened to the news was when my father was watching it and I was either overhearing it or bored out of my mind.

I'm shut out of my thoughts when I hear Carol ask "A week?"

"It started out west. California, Oregon," Morgan starts, " 'bout a week ago. We were in Ohio for a few days with family." A small, smile playing on his lips at the thought of them. "When the virus started movin' east, we decided to try and get home as soon as possible. Just got back a couple days ago. Traffic was somethin' else."

"We're from Harrington, we were at our house for only a day. It was too bad to stay there." Jenny cuts in.

I look to my right where Hayley's now standing next to Carol, her brows furrowed. "We haven't seen any of those things since… yesterday? What time is it?" She asks aloud.

"Around 10 in the morning." Carol responds from behind us. I nod quickly as an acknowledgment of thanks.

"So this virus. It's national now?" I question trying to process everything that they are telling me. One minute the world is fine and dandy and the next, dead people are coming back to life trying to kill us all. God help the politicians.

"From what we know. Hit Europe a couple days ago. That's the last we heard." Morgan says, his eyes scanning the road behind us.

I hear Hayley take a shuddering inhale, clearly trying to process this. "You think there's any hope? That this will clear up?" She seems desperate and I notice Morgan look back at her with sadness in his eyes.

"Hard to tell. Maybe. Not soon though. That's why we're out here, gettin' as many supplies as the car can carry." Morgan says honestly.

"I didn't mean to scare you." Duane finally speaks, regret in his voice, his eyes trained down at his black and white sneakers.

"No worries." I smile at him. I feel horrible scaring a child no older than twelve or so but I didn't know who he was or what he was doing. Any sane person would've had the same reaction as me.

"Where are you guys headed anyway?" Morgan asks.

"We're headed to the CDC in Georgia. They say there is a cure down there or something." I answer.

"The one in Atlanta?" Jenny asks her eyes wide.

"That's the one." I say.

"Cities are the last place you want to be right now. Most of them are completely overrun with the biters." Morgan explains. I see Hayley's eyes widen significantly at this and hear her take another shaky breath, her brother most likely on her mind.

"Biters?" I ask trying to get her attention away from thoughts of her brother and onto the topic at hand.

"The dead." Morgan says simply. I nod, liking that I now have a name for them.

"If there's anything being protected, it's that. The news said to go there. That's where we're going. It's the only plan we have."

"Honey," Jenny says quietly, her husband turning around to look at her and I can see the hesitation in his face. "She's right. If anything is being protected, it's that."

Morgan shakes his head not liking the idea one bit. "I got a bad feeling about this, baby."

"Where else can we go?" Jenny's voice is rising, tears in her eyes now. "We can't just drive to nowhere."

Morgan takes a deep breath, and looks back at us. "Can you excuse my wife and I for a moment?" He asks politely, and I nod, turning back towards Hayley, Carol to give them a bit of privacy.

As soon as I'm next to Hayley, her voice is cracking as she speaks, "He said cities were gone. What about our families?" She says quickly, desperate to get answers.

"It doesn't mean anything. We don't know them. They could be basing their facts on their city or something. We have to have hope that everyone is ok."

She shakes her head before storming back into the truck and slamming the door, clearly needing alone time. I sigh, not knowing what else to tell her. I'm pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of Morgan's footsteps walking back up to me. Carol and I turn just before he begins to speak.

"My wife and I would like to join you, if you don't mind." He says, but I can tell he isn't really too enthusiastic about joining us.

I nod and smile at him, kind of pumped that we will have a man in our group. I had a hunch that he will be extremely helpful on lifting up that damn gas can that weighs more than half my weight.

"You know the area?" Morgan asks.

I shake my head. "Not really, but there is a built in GPS in the truck that we can use. We just need to stay on this route south."

He nods, "We're right behind you then." He says, starting to walk towards a black Chevrolet Cruze. Halfway to the car, I see him open the door to dark purple jeep with a bright pink peace sign on the bumper and lean inside before coming out a minute later with bowls and cups in his hand, a huge satisfied grin on his face.

The rest of us are quiet for a moment and I can't help but think that maybe this is a good thing, if we all stick together. I mean it would be a lot easier to officially kill the biters if I had more help and it looks like they had some things that we would need in the future.

Carol smiles at me and we part to walk to our seats. I get in and notice that Morgan, Jenny and Duane are all doing the same thing, except with a lot more items in their arms. The truck starts up with a rumble and my eyes meet with Hayley's sad ones once more before I put it into drive and maneuver my way over to their car.

For the next couple of hours Morgan takes us around abounded cars and over debris until I look to my left and notice an opening between the trees where the state police usually hang out waiting for their next speeding or drunk driving prey. I beep the horn twice while rolling down my window and point towards the opening. Morgan turns his car to the right and we finally make it into the clearing, onto the north side of the highway.

This side of the highway is deserted, even the cigarette butts and random trash that usually liters the ground seems to be down to a bare minimum. I pull next to Morgan, and glance passed Hayley to see him smiling huge.

"This is perfect!" I say excitedly, smiling.

"Just be careful." He instructs. "It could get confusing driving down the wrong side. Just be aware and cautious."

I nod, too excited to care that I'm being ordered around. This is great! We could make it to the CDC in less than a day if we drive non-stop. I salute him happily, rolling up my window.

I turn to Hayley and then to Sophia and Carol who are snuggled in the back watching me.

"Ready guys?" I ask, feeling free for the first time in hours.

"Ready when you are boss" Carol replies in a joking manner and I hear Hayley slightly laugh next to me.

I chuckle before turning back around, putting the car into drive and pulling out in front of him again. Maybe our luck was finally turning around after all.

**Review Please! (:**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! We have some good shit goin' on in this chapter. We're really starting to get into meeting the full group! Be excited with us! **

**Bushes and Biters,**

**Dino-SOAR & herUSMCdream**

**Hayley POV – **

I wake up to the sun shining in through the window and directly into my eyes. I squint, trying to adjust until I notice the truck is still moving. I turn my head to the left to see Victoria looking out the windshield and onto the road in front of us. Behind our truck is Morgan and his family's car.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Victoria says obnoxiously and I turn behind me to see Carol and Sophia smiling brightly.

"Morning." I mumble, rubbing the nasty out of my eye. "Where are we? How long was I out?"

"A while. You needed the rest though." Carol pipes up and I turn to see her smiling gently at me.

"I'd say nine or ten hours." Victoria says while yawning.

"You've been driving for ten hours? You should've woken me. I could've driven for a bit."

Victoria shakes her head and I'm surprised to hear her response given her stubbornness. "Carol drove for a couple hours."

"We almost there?" I ask.

"We'll be in Atlanta within four hours or so." Victoria says, a smile on her face.

"Have you touched base with Morgan at all?"

"A bit, when Carol and I switched the second time. He wants to stop at a gun store before we get there. He says he'll honk a couple of times before he pulls over."

"Guns?" I ask. Knives are bad enough, but now guns?

"We have to be prepared, Hayley."

I nod, understanding, but not liking it. "I'm glad we found them. They seem nice."

"I agree." Carol puts in her two cents from behind me. "The more the merrier, right?"

"I enjoy their blackness." I say.

"Hayley!" Victoria says harshly, clearly mad I'd say something like that in front of a child.

"Relax their mama bear. I'm just kiddin' around." I say jokingly.

"On the bright side – I'm going to finally be able to hold a gun! I want a rifle!" She exclaims, jumping up and down in her seat a couple of times, a huge crooked grin spreading across her face.

I roll my eyes, remembering how in high school all she talked about was the military, guns and her interest in trying to get me to go hiking with her. None of them exactly worked out for her but that didn't mean she still didn't get passionate about talking about each subject.

Before I can respond, we're cut off by a loud honking coming from behind. I see Victoria look into the rearview mirror and pull over, coming to a complete stop before unbuckling her seatbelt and opening her door to jump out.

We all follow her out of the truck quickly, eager to stretch our legs and walk around for a few minutes. Morgan walks up to us, his wife a distance behind him, clearly trying to find a good spot for Duane to go to the bathroom.

"We should get off in Augusta." He begins, "there should be a few weapon stores around there. Get some basic pieces with some ammunition. Hopefully it hasn't been cleared out yet."

"How far up 'til we get off?" Victoria asks, getting way too excited for my liking.

"No more than fifteen minutes or so. I'll go ahead to make sure we get off at the right exit." Morgan says, starting back for his car. "Be careful!" He says again.

Victoria and I nod, and start back for the truck with Carol and Sophia in tow. I feel a sense of disappointment when I'm sitting down again, my legs starting to cramp up immediately.

We drive in silence for the better part of the fifteen minutes, all of us too excited about getting to the CDC soon. Once again, my thoughts are focused around my missing brother and I can't help but sigh. I can only pray that Victoria's parents got our note at her house and went to get him. He'd be a good asset to any group. I smile, thinking that he'd get along with Morgan well.

I'm pulled out of my thoughts by the lurch of the truck turning sharply. Victoria clearly hasn't mastered driving a large vehicle yet. I look into the parking lot we've entered to see a large sign that says "East Coast Guns". We're definitely down south. Wouldn't see something like this up in Mass.

She breaks in front of the entrance and I see her staring in wonder at the guns that are still in the window. Gosh, she was about to become a kid in a candy shop. We all silently step out of the truck. Morgan and his family walk over to us, Jenny smiling politely. I return the smile, not sure what to say now.

Morgan, as always, is the first to speak. "Jenny and Carol should stay with the kids." He says, beckoning towards Duane and Sophia. "I'll go in first." He says, as he pulls a large axe out of his trunk. "Let's go."

Victoria and I both nod, and I see Victoria take out the knife that she had hidden in her jeans. I follow closely behind them, too afraid to take out my own blade. I really don't know why they think it's a good idea to bring me especially since I can't even kill _one_ biter. Do they really thinking changing in my knife for a pistol will miraculously make me a killing machine like Victoria?

The front door is unlocked, and Morgan opens it as quietly as possible. It makes a slight creaking noise when opened widely, but not loud enough to attract anything we can see.

I follow closely behind Victoria, my eyes darting around the store for any source of movement. I exhale softly, relieved when I don't see anything aside from the three of us. We visibly relax, and start moving about the store, picking up whatever we can. There's not much left. I look up on the shelves and see a few pistols here and there, a crossbow, a bunch of arrows and some type of long gun with a scope. Is that a sniper? Who the hell knows. I look around the bottom shelves and see one box of ammunition. This place is not what we were hoping for at all.

"It's basically cleaned out." I say aloud, grabbing the box of ammo.

"Well, we'll take what we can." Morgan replies, picking up the crossbow and arrows.

Victoria shakes her head. "We need something more than this. This will only keep us going for so long."

"We can always stop at another store as we move closer to Atlanta." Morgan says.

"We probably won't need to. Atlanta is where the CDC is. This should be enough to last us until then, right?" I express my thoughts aloud, looking down at the black glock I just picked up. I hope Atlanta is everything we're expecting.

I see Morgan and Victoria exchange a glance when they think I'm not looking, but neither responds to my question.

"Do you even know how to use-" Victoria starts, looking at the crossbow Morgan picked up. She's cut off suddenly by Morgan shushing her harshly, turning to look around at the back of the store, and making his way slowly.

I look at Victoria, clearly confused at what he heard, but stay silent. It's only a split second or so before Morgan literally runs into an Asian man no older than twenty-five, knocking off his purple hat in the process.

"Woah!" Morgan yells, holding up the crossbow he has in his hands and making the young man stop in his place, his eyes wide. Though I know he does it to look extra menacing, I doubt he actually knows how to use it.

Victoria holds up her knife in unison with Morgan, and I shakily lift the empty glock I have in my hands trying to look just as tough and scary as they do.

The boy yelps, and holds up a gun as well, pointing it at Morgan's face.

"We ain't here to hurt anyone, son." Morgan says calmly, but sternly. "Just lookin' for some weapons. No need for anyone to get hurt."

The man takes a few trembling breaths and nods, lowering his gun slowly, seeing if the rest of us will oblige as well. I notice Victoria and Morgan both lowering their weapons, but having a firm grasp on them, just in case. I follow their lead, excited that we've found another survivor.

"I'm Morgan. This is Victoria and Hayley. They're part of my group." He says, beckoning towards us with a nod of his head.

"Glenn." He says, nervous.

"Is it just you?" Morgan asks with authority.

"My group is back at camp. I'm on a supply run." He says, and I finally notice the large bag on his shoulders.

"Nice to meet you." I say, smiling. I don't understand why Morgan's freaking out. Kid seems nice enough.

He nods at me, not taking his eyes away from Morgan.

"What kind of supplies are you looking for? Any other stores around here that could be of use to us?" Victoria finally asks.

"Mostly food. We're running low. Really low. When the market was a miss, I figured I might as well come back with something useful. My group already cleared out most of this place, but it never hurts to have more."

"You guys cleared out the whole store?" Victoria asks with disbelief.

"There were a few things missing when we came here, but we cleared out most of it." Glenn says, smiling proudly.

"We can trade." Victoria offers, not bothering to consult Morgan or I. "You need food, we need weapons."

"You have food?" Glenn asks, surprised. I nod, thinking about all the canned goods we stalked up on back in Wal-Mart.

"I'd have to ask the guy running our camp. He's a cop. Or was. I can take you guys back with me. You can talk with him."

I look at Victoria and Morgan, and they give each other a stern nod before looking back at Glenn.

"Okay. We didn't see any other cars in the parking lot. Do you need a ride?" Victoria asks.

"I walked here. Where we're camping out is only about a mile and a half, two miles, down the road."

"You can squeeze in with us than. The truck is big enough to hold an extra person or two." I add, excited as fuck that we'll actually be meeting more survivors.

I see Victoria smile at him and then turn on her heel, heading down the empty aisle to start walking towards the entrance. We all follow her in silence until we reach outside. Carol and Jenny are the first ones to notice us and they stand immediately from their perch on the curb, confused expressions on their faces.

"Who's that?" Duane asks defensively.

"It's ok bud, he's comin' with us so we can trade some supplies." Morgan responds.

"Hayley, you sit in the back with Carol and Sophia so that Glenn can ride up front with me and give us directions." Victoria says not a minute later. I nod at her in understanding and we all walk towards our respective cars, the engines hum and the tires squeeling as Victoria peels out of the lot.

"Yo Glenn," I say from the back of the cab once he's done giving Victoria the last of the directions.

"Yeah?" he asks, turning in his seat.

"You gotta bathroom where we're going?"

He laughs at me, shaking his head before replying. "Sorry kid, only the woods."

"Dammit."

"Maltzy, you always have to go to the bathroom." Victoria says trying not to laugh at me.

"Maltzy?" Glenn asks confused. "I thought her name was Hayley."

"It's the nickname she gave me our junior year in high school and for some odd reason it kind of just stuck." I explain.

"Oh." Glenn feigns indifferent, shrugging his shoulders. "Cool."

We are quiet for the rest of the ride; the only sound in the car is Glenn telling Victoria turns to take to get back to the camp site. I see smoke after two minutes of seeing nothing but trees and sigh in relief. I really have to pee. When we're close enough, I notice three large tents and two African American people standing around a camp fire.

'Must be some more members of Glenn's group', I think to myself.

Victoria pulls the truck over and shoves it into park before turning it off. I jump out of the F-150 after Sophia and hurry to Glenn's side.

"You can go over their" Glenn says pointing to a bunch of trees, "that's usually where we relieve ourselves."

I don't take anytime, already starting to unbutton my pants as I practically jog into the forest. Once I'm far enough in that I know no one can see me I turn to my right and start heading towards a bush.

I'm stopped in my tracks by a slight moan coming from behind it when I'm close enough to it followed by a groan. I look around to see none of the group members. Fuck! Why didn't I ask Victoria to come with me?

I'm frozen in place when a louder moan hits my ears before with a shaky hand I reach into the back of my jeans to take out the knife I had stored back there when Victoria first handed it to me. I walk closer, hoping that I can kill this biter when I'm again stopped in my tracks by someone moaning out the name, "Shane."

Fuck, it wasn't a biter after all.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:**

**What up motha fuckahs?! This is the day you bitches have been waitin' for! WOOP! WOOP! Have at it, and don't forget to review and tell us what you think!**

**Punches & Cockroaches,**

**herUSMCdream & Dino-SOAR **

**P.S Shout out to **_**hayleyjune13, arrowsandkittens, & RedAlyk**_** for the reviews in the last couple of chapters! It really means a lot to us!**

**Victoria POV - **

A loud scream pierces the members that are still standing around the truck, making all of us scramble for our weapons. I'm the first one up and running, my feet carrying me towards where I saw my best friend enter the forest. Gosh, I can't leave this girl anywhere by herself.

A moment after the scream, Hayley comes darting out of the trees, her shoulder-length brown hair bouncing behind her, as a man only clothed in unbuttoned jeans chases after her. I finally catch up to her and she immediately darts behind me, making the man stop in his tracks and mere inches away from me. His eyes meet mine and blaze with a fury I only thought capable in a serial killer.

"Who the hell are you?" He asks, pointing his finger at me while his eyes roam over my body before making their way back up to meet mine, glancing behind me to Hayley for a moment.

"Hey man, lets just relax. No need to get angry." An African-American man comes up from the side, putting a hand on his shoulder. The shirtless man shrugs it off harshly.

I give him my best bitch brow, my arms crossing over my chest, my hip slightly popping out to the side as I use a just as aggravated voice, "I could ask you the same thing." I say, ignoring the African-American's man presence.

He doesn't reply right away giving me time to scan his own physique. He stands about six feet tall with shaved black hair and a five o'clock shadow along his jaw and mouth. My eyes go further south to see slightly tanned skin stretched over broad shoulders and hairless chiseled abs.

A loud clearing of someone's throat makes my face flame as I realize that the person who did it is standing in front of me with a smug, annoyed look on his face. "See something you like?"

Just then, a movement from the forest line catches my eyes, and I see a tall brunette haired woman, that looks to only weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet walking towards us as she tucks her oversized shirt into her jeans. I turn back to the man, a smug smile of my own forming on my lips. "No, but clearly you were _doin'_ something _you_ like."

He makes a move to step closer to me, his hands balling into fists but is stopped just in time.

"Shane, don't," says the woman, her long, skinny hand landing on his chest. His nostrils flare and I can see he's trying to keep it under control, but barely just keeping it together. When the woman sees that he isn't going to do anything she turns and sticks out her hand, waiting for me to take it. "Lori."

I don't respond at first, only look at her hand and then back between the couple. "Victoria," I say after a short awkward pause, extending my own so that we can shake. "And that is my best friend Hayley. The girl your husband just so happened to scare the living shit out of." I say accusingly, crossing my arms back in front of my chest.

"Well maybe she shouldn't be runnin' around the damn – " Shane starts to say but is cut off by Lori putting her hand back on his chest.

"I," Hayley cuts in, moving a bit to the left so that she is no longer using me as her own personal shield. "I was just trying to go to the bathroom when I heard something in the bushes. I thought it was a biter, at first."

"I told her where we usually go if we have to use the bathroom. I didn't realize you guys were, you know." Glenn says from somewhere close behind me.

Shane scoffs, and I can tell he is having a hard time believing a word they're saying.

"You think she would lie about something like that? Her bladder is the size of a peanut and we've been on the road for the past fourteen hours straight. What did you expect? Her to hold it in for the next eight years?" I practically yell, my own temper rising.

"No, what I think is you got yourself is a peeping tom for a 'best friend.'" He states.

"I am not a peeping tom!"

"She is not a peeping tom!"

Hayley and I both exclaim at the same time and I move forward a bit so that Shane and I are now almost toe to toe.

"Alright, alright. Everyone just calm down." Lori says, trying to diverge Shane and I from punching each other. "I think you guys are just all tired and need to rest. You can take one of the spare tents we have if you'd like."

"That's quite alright," I hear Morgan say and see him step to my left, his eyes trained on Shane. "We don't need to cause anymore trouble. I have a couple of extra tents in the back of the car we can set up, if yah' don't mind."

"Not at all. You need any help?" Lori nods her head asking, taking a step towards us.

"Lori," Shane says, putting out a hand to place on her shoulder so she can't move. "I don't think-"

"I know what you think Shane," she replies in a pissy voice, "but we are survivors now and we all need to help each other." With that she turns back to Morgan. "Lead the way."

He gives her a small smile and turns to leave, putting a hand on my arm to gently pull me with him. I stare at Shane a moment longer, giving him a disgusted face and then pivot so that I'm following after them, Hayley already walking ahead of me.

She slows down until I've caught up to her, her face showing remorse and embarrassment. "Well that was a great way to meet our new neighbors."

"We won't be staying long, trust me. We're just here to trade some of our shit and then I plan on leaving in the morning." I snap. "I mean, who the fuck does that jackass think he is. Saying you were actually watching him fuck." I stop, which makes her stop in the process. "You weren't watching them fuck were you?"

"NO!" Hayley screams horrified. "I may not have had sex in a while, but I'm not that desperate enough that I actually have to watch to get myself off."

I scrunch my nose, shake my head and smile while replying, "Ew. Ok, enough said."

She laughs at me and then shoves me so that I trip over my feet, making me almost face plant the grass and dirt below.

I'm helped up by a young African-American woman with bushy hair. Her face is kind and sort of reminds me of the gentle-ness of Jenny's.

"Thanks." I smile, dusting off my pants. "Victoria." I put out my hand.

"Sasha." She smiles, shaking it gently. "That's my brother Tyreese." She says, nodding towards the man that was trying to calm Shane down earlier. "Sorry about Shane. He's a little hot-headed." She laughs softly.

"It's fine." I mumble, not wanting to talk about it.

I look over to see Morgan and Duane already rummaging in the trunk of the car. Lord only knows what else they could possibly have back there when I see them take out two tents, one in green wrapping, the other in red. I grin, knowing it was the right call to have them join us.

"It was nice meeting you." I say, feeling uncomfortable with the stranger, wanting to go over with my own group.

"Victoria, have you ever set one of those up before?" Carol asks me with concern in her voice as I make my way over. Clearly she never had.

"You're talking to a girl who's been camping since she was first born. Of course I've set one up before. " I mock, sticking out my tongue to show her I'm only teasing. I turn to walk over to Duane who looks like he's having a hard time following Morgan with the tent in his hand and pick up the end so that we're both carrying it. He looks back and smiles at me, relief evident on his face. I smile back before looking around to see Shane in the same spot the group and I left him in, his face expressionless as he follows my movements.

_Fuckin' creep._

"Carl!" Lori yells. A second later I see a small boy with dark brown hair and freckles running out from behind one of the already set up tents, a large stick in his hands.

"Yeah mom?" He screams back, stopping to stand next to her.

"Wanna help?"

The little boy Carl drops the stick and yells "Yeah!" before running over to where Sophia and Duane are unzipping the case to one of the tents. We all get to work, Lori, Hayley and I working on putting up the tent the kids are at, while Carol, Jenny and Morgan work on the other one. I notice Shane walk over to them after a couple of minutes when they still haven't even attempted to put the stakes in the ground, barking out directions.

The sun has just gone down when we all finish putting up the tents and manage to start dinner. I'm not very hungry, too stressed and wrapped up in the past day and a half's events to swallow anything but some warm water.

"You ok?" Hayley asks, noticing my lack of appetite.

I nod, "Yeah."

"You sure?" She asks, her tone disbelieving.

"Dude, I'm just really tired. These long ass days aren't doin' it for me." I answer, standing up to stretch out the kinks in my back. Everyone turns to stare at me and I self-consciously bring down my arms. "I think I'm gonna head to bed. It's been a long couple of days."

Everyone nods their head in understanding and I hear Jenny say "Night honey."

I raise my hand in acknowledgement, letting out a large yawn before saying "Sorry, night guys."

I walk over to the truck and open up the passenger side door. I'm about to lean over and grab the backpack with the extra clothes, knives and other necessities I may need when Hayley's multi-colored purse catches my attention. A small plastic bag is hanging out of one of the pockets, and I immediately know that what's in is exactly what I need to relax. I'm not much of smoker, but hell if there were ever a time when I needed to feel good, it would be right now. I look back to make sure no one is behind me, and make a grab for it.

I swear the doors to Heaven open up as soon as I smell that weed, and I grin. A deep clearing of someone's throat makes me almost drop the bag and I gasp, spinning around quickly to see my intruder. He is masked in almost complete black before he steps closer and the light from inside the car lights up his whole body. I roll my eyes when I realize who it is, ready to turn back and ignore him.

"You know I could arrest you for even having that in the car with you, let alone watching you steal from someone's purse?" Shane asks, the muscles in his arms bulging as he crosses them in front of his now black T-shirt clothed chest.

"Yeah well, it's a good thing the worlds gone to shit then huh? The law doesn't exactly mean much when everyone is too busy trying to fight for their lives." I say defensively. "And how do you know that this purse isn't mine?"

He cocks his eyebrow, leaning over me to get a closer look inside the truck. "I have a hunch that you'd rather carry that leather bag than this" he fingers the straps on the purse, "pink thing."

He leans back, but doesn't step away from me and I momentarily lose my train of thought or even what we were talking about as I stare into his eyes.

_Shit, no. Enemy Victoria. Remember that._

"Yeah well, for your information I absolutely love the color pink, going shopping, and reading romance novels."

"Cop. You might want to remember that, Victoria. I've heard so many lies thrown my way that I can sniff one out from a mile away."

I roll my eyes, turning around to grab my bag and stash the weed into the back pocket of my jeans. When I spin around Shane has moved closer and I am now chest to chest with him. My breath catches as I feel his hand go into the pocket where I have the weed stored.

"I'll just be taking this." He says, pinching it and my ass at the same time before turning to walk away.

When I finally get my voice back I scream, "That's mine, asshat!"

He turns around, walking backwards as he replies, "Actually, it's your best friends." He gives me another smug smile as he turns on his heel and continues to walk away.

"Asshole!"

"Sweet dreams sweetheart." I hear him call back cockily.

Tomorrow morning could not come fuckin' fast enough.

**PLEASE REVIEW! It gives us a ton of motivation!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys, this chapter was a lot of fun to write! We're really excited to start writing Shane, and we have a surprise for you in this chapter! (:**

**Remember to check out our end authors note for some important information!**

**Manly Voices and Girly Giggles,**

**Dino-SOAR & herUSMCdream**

**Hayley POV – **

This tent is a piece of shit. I can feel every fucking rock and bug that is under me. The sun is making its way through the light blue fabric and into my eyes, making me want move to Alaska for half the year. I rub them, looking over to where Victoria is sleeping. She looks peaceful. I smile big, untangling my feet from underneath the red sleeping bag as an idea pops into my head.

I can't help but giggle to myself as I put my toes up to her face. As soon as she takes her next inhalation, her nose scrunches up and she's turns her head a bit away from the smell. My smile widens and I viciously shove my big toe up under her nose. She wakes up with a painful sounding scream, her arm reaching out to slap me several times.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, you stupid fuckin' fucked up midget?!" She screams as I clutch my ribs with laughter, not even caring that she is still hitting me.

"Just having a bit of fun." I get out between chuckles as I roll away from her and finally stand up, going to search through the blue and black backpack for some clean clothes. I pull out my favorite brown shirt that shows off my boobs really well and a pair of dark denim jeans, throwing on my Westfield sweatshirt to complete the outfit once I've finished changing.

"Gosh, you're a horrible best friend." She says, sighing as she rummages around for her own clothes.

I walk out of the tent laughing, leaving her so she can dress in peace and make my way towards where Morgan and his family set up their tent.

"Sounds like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed." Carol says with amusement in her voice as she looks back towards our tent where Victoria is still getting ready.

"She'll be fine." I smile widely. "So what's the plan for the day?"

"We're just going to discuss a few deals. Hopefully we'll leave here with some guns." Morgan says, smiling at Duane's excited face.

"Will you teach me to use one?" Duane asks.

Jenny and Morgan share a look before Morgan nods and in a stern voice replies, "I think you're old enough. You'll have to pay attention though. A gun is not a toy."

"Maybe you could teach me too?" I ask, hopefully knowing that _I_ was the one the Jones family would have to be worried about, not their thirteen year old son.

"Absolutely." Morgan smiles widely, "We'll have to find somewhere off the campsite to shoot though, so we don't attract the biters."

"Hell no." Victoria bellows from somewhere behind me. I turn to see her wearing a green v-neck T-shirt and a comfortable pair of jeans, her hair up in a high ponytail, a scowl on her face as she descends towards our little group. "We aren't staying here for a minute longer than we're supposed to. We're leaving by noon."

"Maybe we should discuss this another time." Jenny says, and I follow where her eyes are trained and notice the black man whose name I recall as Tyreese talking with Shane. They're both standing near the dead campfire, the latter of the two watching us closely.

"God, he is such a pain in the ass!" Victoria says with disgust and anger leaking through.

"Relax." I say, already getting tired of Victoria's bitchy attitude. I guess this is karma for waking her up the way I did.

"Whatever. Let's just do our business and get to the CDC. The sooner we leave, the better." She mumbles, walking towards the back of our truck to examine the supplies. Shane seems to notice this and walks in the direction of Victoria and the truck, Tyreese stopping mid-sentence as he watches Shane walk away. We all follow them, meeting at the back of the truck to form a slight circle with Victoria, Shane, and Morgan as the main focal points.

"So let's talk business, shall we?" Morgan says to Shane from where he's now standing next to Victoria.

"What do you guys need?" Shane asks, arms crossed over his chest.

"What do you have?" Victoria responds.

"That wasn't the question, blondie." Shane replies cockily, leaning up against the truck.

"Weapons. Preferably guns and some ammunition" Morgan interjects, taking control of the conversation so that it won't end up being a full blown war between Victoria and Shane.

"We've got some rifles and a few extra glocks that we can spare." Shane says nodding his head towards what I'm assuming is his tent. "You two can come with me and pick out the guns you want." He then turns back to the rest of us. "Glenn, Tyresse, you guys will stay here with Hayley, Carol and Jenny and trade some of the food." He turns and walks away, not waiting for anyone's response and I see Victoria roll her eyes at him before she does as he says, the rest of us following suit. If we stay long enough with this group of survivors, I have a hunch that those two will be doing everything in their power to make the other's life miserable.

After we do our trading, Victoria makes it her job to secure everything in the back of the truck, before helping Lori and Sasha bring the rest of their canned goods and silverware to the trunk of a green Hyundai Tuscan.

I'm just putting the last of the fruit into the back when I hear Lori ask, "So where you folks headin'?"

"CDC." I say, excited that my brother may already be there waiting for me.

"The CDC?" Lori says, in disbelief, "In Atlanta?"

"That's the one." I say in a sing-song voice, slightly jumping on the balls of my feet as I think more of our reunion.

"That's a suicide run. Atlanta's completely overrun." Lori tries to reason.

"If anything is being protected, it's that." Victoria cuts in from beside me.

"We believe that if there is any form of government or military still out there, they'd be protectin' the CDC at all costs. It's the only hope they have left." Morgan explains, walking over to us with Shane beside him. We part for them, again forming a small circle.

"I say let them do it." Shane adds.

"Shane –" Lori starts, giving him a glare.

He cuts her off. "They ain't our problem. They were just here to trade shit and then they were leaving."

"Shane, can I talk to you for a moment," Lori looks around before giving him a bitch face that can rival Victoria's. "Alone?"

"Well that's awkward," I mumble. Clearly not low enough though because a second later, Victoria is shoving me and Carol, Sasha and Morgan are laughing at me.

"Maltzy, sometimes you truly do have perfect timing." Victoria laughs out loud, her crooked smile appearing.

We are quiet after that as Shane and Lori continue their conversation in hushed tones. From where I'm standing I can see that Shane looks pissed and the only thing I catch before they lower their voices again is "I'm trying to protect you and Carl!"

Shane doesn't look thrilled at all by the time they finish up, and I see his fists ball as Lori asks "Mind if we join you?"

"Really?" Carol asks, hope and disbelief mixed into her voice. I'm not at all surprised by the change of events but clearly some of the other group members are. Anyone with eyes can see that Shane will do absolutely anything for his wife and kid.

"We don' really have a plan right now and yours sounds just about as good as any."

"You're welcome to join us." Morgan says kindly and I see Victoria visibly roll her eyes, groaning slightly. She was just as uncomfortable with Shane and his group going, as Shane was. I can't help but laugh to myself as I realize just how similar Shane and Victoria really are. Maybe they could end up being friendly towards each other after all.

"This is a good idea. Pooling our supplies. We both have things the other group could use. Why trade when we can share?" Jenny says logically.

"I agree." Tyreese says, nodding his head.

"Well then, it's settled!" Morgan claps his hands together. "We'll travel together."

I smile, happy to know that there are other people joining us. Carol was right. The more, the merrier.

As everyone is folding their tents and loading up our truck and a few other cars, I can see Shane a distance away talking to Morgan.

"What do you think they're talking about?" I ask Victoria, who is leaning up against the driver's side door, her arms crossed over her chest and her legs crossed at the ankles as I see that she is glaring at Shane.

"Who cares?" She says annoyed, only moving her head so that she can see me.

"Sounds like someone has a little crush on an older man, hmm?" I say, while raising my eyebrows up and down a couple of times and bumping my shoulder into her own.

"Shut up!" She replies defensively, straightening and turning so that she can fully glare at me. "He is such an asshole and besides, he's married."

"I'm sure." I wink, ignoring the second part of her statement.

She groans loudly, opening the door so that she can pull herself up into the truck's driver seat. "Let's go."

I chuckle and walk around to the passenger side door, laughing a little harder as she beeps the horn several times to get everyone's attention.

"Morgan!" Victoria yells out her open window, "We're ready to go! Are you?"

Morgan nods and responds loudly, "Carol and Sophia are comin' with us! Careful driving!" he holds up his hand in a gentle wave.

Before Victoria can even start the engine, the driver's side door opens widely, and Shane pushes Victoria into the middle of the bench seat, taking control of the truck.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Victoria yells, caught off guard.

"You can't drive this thing for shit. I saw the way you skidded in here yesterday. Pathetic." He replies, starting the engine as Lori and Carl get into the back seat.

"This is _my _truck!" She screeches.

"I'm sorry, _your_ truck?" I ask in disbelief. _I'm _the one who hotwired it in the first place!

Victoria rolls her eyes at me before turning back to Shane. "I can drive!"

"Too late." he deadpans, already pulling out in front of Morgan and onto the deserted road.

She groans harshly, slumping back into her seat and I can hear Carl laughing in the back at her behavior, my own giggles mixing with his.

"Oh my God." I hear Lori say quietly as we reach the CDC about ten minutes later. I look up, from picking at my nails, wondering what has her so in shock. The answer is all around me. Biters are everywhere, all moving towards two men that seem to be trapped in the middle of all them.

I notice they both have dark hair, although the taller mans is a bit lighter. The lighter-haired man has a large knife in his hand, and is wearing a leather vest with ripped jeans. I see him yelling to the other man as he stabs his knife through a biter. The second man wields a crossbow, shooting an arrow into the head of a biter and pulling it out of the skull quickly, using it as a makeshift knife, stabbing anything that gets too close to him and his partner. They won't be able to take all of them down.

I immediately feel dread as I can see the biters starting to surround them. I roll down the window, yelling, "Hey! Over here!" and wave my arms, hitting Victoria to get Shane to stop the car. Morgan has already gotten the hint, as his car is stopped behind us, holding up the car that Tyreese and Sasha have taken behind them.

The larger and lighter-haired man stabs another biter and uses its body to shield off others as he runs towards our truck, the man with the crossbow close behind him.

"Stop fucking hitting me!" I hear Shane yell in the background to Victoria.

"Then fucking drive the car towards them so that they can jump in sooner, you asshole!"

They continue to bicker loudly, but I block them out as I see Lori open the back passenger door in order for them to jump in. The biters are far behind, shuffling towards the noises we've created.

The man with the crossbow jumps into the back seat quickly, the other man shutting the door aggressively; nearly crushing the shorter mans feet in the process.

"Go!" The man yells as the taller man climbs into the bed of the truck and bangs on the top of it loudly with his hands, signaling for us to leave.

Shane screeches out of the large parking lot and back onto the road of the entrance. "What the hell?" he barks at crossbow man, making me flinch at his loud voice.

"What is going on?" Lori says, her arm around Carl's shoulders, as if trying to keep him as far away as possible from the man.

"Pull over! Let Merle grab the truck!" He yells pointing to a baby blue truck parked on a curb up ahead, shifting his body, trying to sit upright but failing due to the lack of space in our truck.

As Shane slows next to the older looking truck, with a black motorcycle in the back, the man identified as Merle jumps off the bed of our truck and pry's open the door of theirs, waving at us to keep going, and knowing he'd catch up.

I take a deep breath, trying to process what just happened. "What was that?"

"Walkers." Crossbow man explains, trying to adjust his large weapon so that it's not stabbing Lori and Carl.

"No shit!" Shane mumbles, driving back to the deserted highway we came from.

"Shut up!" Victoria exclaims.

"Pull over somewhere!" He pants, exhausted.

Shane pulls over the truck in a moment's notice and we all shuffle out of the vehicle, waiting for 'Merle'.

I stand next to Victoria as Lori and Carl go to the back of the truck and pull out a few water bottles. Before we know it, Morgan is pulling over behind us, followed by Tyresse and Sasha in their beat up van and the old blue truck.

"What the hell was that?" Victoria yells as Merle steps out of his truck.

"You savin' our asses sweetie-pie," Merle responds, walking over to her and throwing an arm over her shoulder.

She shrugs it off, stepping away from him before answering, "I am not your sweetie-pie."

Shane steps a bit towards Victoria, his right hand balling into a fist and I don't think he realizes he's doing it. Merle smirks at this response, clearly liking his reaction.

"Let's all relax. No need to get angry." Morgan says and I see that Jenny is right behind, with Duane in between them both. "I'm Morgan." He continues, reaching out to shake Merle's hand before making his way over to the other man.

"Daryl." The cross bowed man lets out quickly, shaking his hand firmly and then looking down at his worn out boots.

"C'mon Darylina! Shake his hand like a man!" Merle yells from behind us, and I can tell that Shane is getting ready to beat the living shit out of him.

"How did you guys end up bein' surrounded by 'walkers'?" Sasha asks aloud, her and Tyreese standing off to the side with Glenn.

"Met some people 'long the way. They said to go the CDC. We went." Daryl explains shortly. "Deserted, 'til they saw us movin' 'round. Came outta' nowhere."

I nod, enjoying his voice. It's sexy. Rugged and manly.

"Well the CDC is a bust then." Shane says, his hands crossed behind his head as he looks up at the sky and lets out a deep breath. "Fuck."

"What do we do now?" Lori asks, her arms around Carl once again.

I frown, not expecting the CDC to not work out. I tap Victoria on the shoulder gently. She turns, looking at me expectantly.

"I'm going to find TJ." I whisper. Her eyes widen and she turns to glare at me.

"No." She says sternly.

"I'm not asking permission."

"No. We'll talk about this when we find somewhere to camp for the night."

"I don't need to talk about this." Our voices still only hushed whispers.

"Would you just fucking give me this?!" She suddenly screams, her body tensing at her outburst.

I swallow, noticing that everyone is now looking at us, not liking the attention, I nod, walking back towards the passenger seat of the truck. I get inside, feeling everyone's eyes on me as I do. I take a deep breath, trying not to let my eyes well up with tears as I swallow my embarrassment. After a few moments of waiting for everyone else, Victoria climbs into the truck, Shane right behind her.

"We're meeting everyone back at the old camp site." Victoria tells me. I nod, not knowing what to say.

Carl breaks the silence from the back seat as Shane starts the car again and pulls back onto the road, now behind Tyreese, Sasha and Glenn's car.

"How come you yelled at Hayley?" Carl asks. Ugh, how awkward.

"It's nothing." Victoria says, also feeling uncomfortable.

No one says anything else until we pull onto our dirt road, leading to the campsite.

"So, Hayley," Shane starts, "how good of a friend would you say Victoria is?"

Ugh, this is not what I was in the mood for right now. "Good enough." I mumble.

"Really?" He says, a smirk on his face.

Victoria punches his arm, clearly hiding something. "Don't," I hear her whisper to him.

"Why?" I ask, an eyebrow raised.

Shane parks the truck and turns off the engine, getting out of it. I follow suit, Victoria behind me quickly.

Everyone else is getting out of their respective cars, all of us making our way towards the campfire, the two strangers behind us, talking to each other quietly.

"Well, look at what your 'best friend' took from your purse." He smirks, throwing me a Ziploc bag as I sit down on the log. I grab it in the air and look at what just might be the best thing that has ever happened to me. My weed. I stare at it, praying that I have some papers or a bowl in my purse too. I look at Victoria, hurt that she took the one thing I really needed right now.

She stares at me, about to speak, but is cut off by a bellowing voice.

"Well, well, well, that's my kinda' girl!" Merle shouts happily, sitting down next to me. "Maybe you'd be interested in smokin' a joint later? How 'bout it, lil' lady?"

I sigh, shoving the bag into the pocket of my jeans. "Maybe another time." I mumble, not wanting to be rude.

"Oooh' c'mon sweet cheeks, ol' Merle can give you a hit of somethin' else." He winks at me, and I finally notice his already red eyes.

I move to stand up and start to walk away, not wanting to deal with him or really anyone else for that matter. I open the small door at the bed of the truck and pull myself into it, my legs swinging as they hang off.

"Sorry 'bout him." A voice mumbles to my left. I look to see Daryl standing there, his head down. "My brotha'. . . ." He trails off.

"It's ok." I say, "I know what it's like. My brothers the same way."

This catches his attention. He looks up, looking me in the eyes, understanding. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I get it."

We both look away as we hear the sounds of light footsteps walking our way. "Maltzy, we gotta talk."

"Mulch? Your name is _Mulch_?" Daryl asks, trying to hide his amusement by looking over at the other group members.

I was so going to murder Victoria in her sleep tonight.

**HELLO EVERYONE! Guess what! You have an opportunity! **

**If you review every chapter from now until the end of the story (or at least most of them), then once the story is over, we'll private message you a oneshot of your couple of choice! Either Shane/Victoria or Daryl/Hayley. **

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**P.S. If you aren't too familiar with cars the Hyundai Tucson that we're referring to in this chapter is the green car that you see them driving around in for a lot of the show.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:**

**Sup our peeps? How u fuckah's doin'? We hope you didn't miss us too much as we wrote this chapter. Oh what the hell, we're clearly terrible liars. We both hope you guys missed us a shit ton while we were away. I mean if you didn't, that would be a major problem. **

**Anyway, we hope you guys enjoy and don't forget to review so that you can get a oneshot from us. Your characters choice.**

**Pink Ponies & Green Elephants,**

**herUSMCdream & Dino-SOAR**

**Victoria POV - **

"Are you still mad at me?"

"No."

"Then why won't you turn around and talk to me?" I ask to the back of Hayley's head.

I hear her take a shaky breath before she turns to lay flat on her back, her eyes scanning the tent ceiling in the dark. "I'm not mad at you, I'm just" she pauses searching for the right words "annoyed."

"Come on Hayley, I know you can do better than that." I say jokingly.

"I'm just annoyed." She repeats.

"Vent, Maltz." I insist.

"I'm annoyed that you wouldn't even hear what I had to say about finding TJ. You just dismissed it and then yelled at me. You know I _hate_ when people yell. There's never a point to it. Just makes people angrier for no reason. I don't yell at people because of that and I expect the same respect."

I sigh deeply, not know what to say back at first. I do what she did, and turn my body so that I too can look up at the ceiling, trying to search my brain for the right words.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." I start a minute later. "But we can't just up and leave the only people we've come across that aren't trying to eat our organs and devour our brains."

"Dude I know that, but we also can't stay here in hope that my brother and your family will magically find us. You saw for yourself how the CDC was overrun by those things." She cries, her voice trembling.

I sit up immediately and see tears rolling down her temples and going into her hairline before she looks over at me and wipes them away.

"Hey, don't cry. We'll find them soon enough. I just really don't think it's the best idea if we try and look for them on our own. I mean, you saw what Merle and Daryl went through, and they are two grown men who look to have a lot of fighting under their belts."

I see her face suddenly change from sadness to embarrassment halfway through my rant. She quickly sits up, spinning her body so that she can glare at me straight on. "I can't believe you called me Maltzy in front of Daryl!"

I'm confused by her sudden change in topic, my right eyebrow raising slightly as I take in her expression. "What are you –" I stop. "You like Daryl" I continue, drawing his name out as I realize what's going through her mind.

"I don't like him!" she screeches as she grabs at her pillow from behind her and tries flinging it at my head but misses it completely because of her terrible aim.

"Don't lie to me, Maltzy," I mock yell. "You so do."

"I do not! I just think he's hot." she replies in a calm, collected voice. "Besides if _you_ think_ I_ like Daryl, than you are _madly_ in love with Shane."

"I so don't like Shane! He is a fuckin' no good, jackass, turd monkey, annoying, cocky bastard who thinks everybody needs to jump when he says jump!" I snap back, my temper rising just thinking about him. "I mean, he drove my truck! _My truck!_ Who the fuck just opens someone's driver's side door and pushes them aside like a ragdoll, only to jump in and take over the driving because he felt like I couldn't handle it! Me? I'm an awesome fuckin' driver!"

"So you do like him." Hayley says rolling her eyes at the truck comment and completely ignoring my rant. I can practically feel her beaming with joy at what she believes is my confession.

I groan, rolling down onto my back as I cover my eyes with my arm.

"No denial." She giggles loudly, snorting.

I uncover my eyes to glare at her. "No agreement either."

She gives me a huge smile, jumping slightly up and down from her place in the tent. "I knew it! There is way too much sexual tension between you two. You should hop on that. Handle the D."

"Even if I did like him, he's married and has a kid. So nothing could or even would happen between us." I say, turning back to look at the ceiling. Why did I always go for the people who I would never have a chance with? Fuck me.

"Dude, just imagine. You and Shane, me and Daryl, walking down the street, holding hands and getting burgers. We haven't had a double date in so long!"

I roll my eyes at her, thinking about the last date I'd been on with her and how epically awkward it was for all parties present. No. Double dating with Hayley always seemed to be an adventure, and not a good one.

"Maltzy, you do realize we are in the middle of a zombie apocalypse right? There will be no burger shacks or double dating anytime soon."

I watch her deeply sigh, before she copies my position and lays back down. "Don't remind me. I already miss the steak." She says, pain evident in her voice. I can't help but roll my eyes at her sick obsession for steak.

We're quiet for a moment, lost in thought, and I'm just about to close my eyes and fall asleep when she starts speaking again. "We need to find our family."

It's my turn to be the one that lets out a deep sigh, knowing she's right but also knowing we'd never survive if we headed back up north to find them. "Go to bed Hayley. We'll talk more about it later."

She doesn't reply, but seconds later I hear some rustling coming from her sleeping bag before nothing. I inhale deeply, trying not to cry myself, as I turn over to my side, facing away from her and falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The sun is just starting to rise when I open my eyes. I look around and notice Hayley is still sound asleep, the camp ground quiet for once. Good. That means I didn't have to deal with interacting with people this early in the morning. I quietly get up to change.

Throwing on a pair of jeans and a black sweatshirt with red USMC lettering, I tiptoe over to the thin material door and unzip it, stepping into my running shoes and bending to grab the small pistol Shane gave me, as well as the butcher knife I took from Wal-Mart. I stand up when I'm done tying my shoes and hiding my gun and knife in the buckle of my jeans and close my eyes. Taking a breath, loving the smell of nature and the quietness of the camp ground, I open my eyes to see Shane standing in front of me, his arms crossed in front of his chest, his rifle hanging by his side.

"Shit!" I whisper yell, jumping nearly a foot off the ground. "What the fuck are you doing up?"

"You know it's not very lady like of you to swear so much." Is his only response.

"That's not an answer to my question." I say back, starting to walk away from him and towards the deserted road before he can annoy me anymore than he already has.

He stays in step with me as we walk around the edge of the ground and I see his eyes roaming all over the place. "I stayed up to watch the grounds with Morgan and Daryl while you and the midget were getting your beauty sleep." I almost chuckle at him calling her a midget, but then hold back in order to keep a straight face.

"Oh." I reply not knowing what else to say. "Well um, if you want, Hayley and I can take the next shift, though I'm not too sure Hayley will be much help. She can barely hold a knife, let alone actually try and take someone down with it."

He slightly laughs; already getting the idea of Hayley's personality in the short amount of time we've known him. "There are always two people on watch. We need to keep watch on both sides of the camp. She doesn't have to take any down if she's not comfortable with it yet."

I nod, "She might fall asleep."

"We all have to do our part." He says sternly.

I sigh, "Alright, I'll let her know. When do you want us to start?"

"We're trying to figure out a rotating schedule. It'll probably be done sometime today. We'll talk then."

"Ok. Just let us know." I say, speeding up a bit. I can feel him following not too far behind me.

"Where are you headed, anyway?" He asks, moving his head to in the direction of the road we're just about to step on.

"Not a clue. Just kind of felt like exploring a bit." I say indifferently.

He stops in his tracks, his rifle extending out in front of me as he asks in a stern voice "You were going to explore the area? Alone? Are you suicidal?" He then looks down at my chest where he reads the lettering on it. "Must be."

I roll my eyes at him, pushing away the gun with my hand and continue walking, as I kick a small pebble and watch it go sailing in front of me. "I'm not your responsibility. And I sure in hell can handle myself." I say, continuing to look down at the small black and gray speckled rock.

Out of nowhere, a strong hand wraps around my upper arm, a muscular body pulling me back so that it can stand in front of me. I look up to see the back of Shane's head and immediately see red. "What the fuck is your problem?" I yell, trying to step around him. His arm goes out to stop me from going any further and he moves his head a bit, shushing me in the process. "I will not be –"

As quickly as he pulled me back, he is clamping his hand down on my mouth, his body pressing up against mine, his furious brown eyes catching my own furious green ones, as he shushes me again and moves his head in the direction of the road in front of me. I move my eyes away from his and see that there are about nine or ten walkers in front of us, each one of them shuffling in our direction. My eyes widen and when he sees this he lets me go, lifting up my sweatshirt a bit to draw out the knife that is tucked away in the front of my jeans. He hands it to me and then steps away.

"Fuck." I finally say, getting a better grip on the handle of my knife. "Do they ever stop coming?"

With that, we both move forward, taking down four walkers in a matter of moments before moving onto the rest of them. I'm just getting done taking down my last one, when I hear a loud scream coming from my right. Fuck, not again. I turn to see Jenny and Carol pointing in the other direction, Duane and Sophia wrapped in each of their arms. My eyes follow their fingers and I see twenty or so walkers shuffling towards the camp ground.

"Watch out!" I hear Hayley scream at me from her place next to Carol and Jenny, her eyes showing her fear and horror. I turn just in time to see a walker directly behind me and trip over my own feet as he growls, extending his arms so that he can try and attack my neck. We both stumble to the ground, the sick man's body covering mine as he continues to growl and snap his teeth at me. I struggle against him, before I hear the whooping sound of something flying through the air and then I'm free, the now dead man rolling away from me as I see Daryl pull him off, his arm extending down towards me.

"You ok?" He asks gruffly. I nod my head and bend down to pick up the knife I dropped.

I quickly dart to my feet with Daryl's help, holding out my knife in a fighting stance. I turn, trying to find Hayley. I see her helping Carol and Sophia, beckoning them into a car. We quickly make eye contact before I turn my attention back to the task at hand and stab another walker straight between the eyes.

There are so many grunts and groans. The shuffling of the leaves against the walkers feet seem to never stop. I turn around towards a scream, and see Lori clutching her child, standing behind Shane, Carl bursting into tears.

"We gotta' get the fuck outta' here!" Merle bellows, stabbing one of the walkers that had been crawling towards Hayley, Carol and Sophia.

"Where?" I ask, as I rush to his side to help kill of a few of the remaining walkers. I see an arrow fly by my head and into another one. I spin around to see Daryl loading another arrow, his eyes darting around him.

"Fort Benning." Shane says gruffly, from the left of us, not even bothering to hear what anyone thinks about the idea, already moving towards one of the tents to quickly take it down. We follow him, our eyes scanning all over the field as each of us goes into our respective tents to pack them up. I stand outside the door, looking for any danger, my eyes going everywhere at once.

"Where the hell are they coming from?" Hayley yells from inside the tent and I turn to see her shoving our clothes into their bags.

I shrug, not knowing how to answer her question and turn back around to continue keeping an eye out for any walkers.

A stick breaking to my right makes my head turn and I quickly run over to the dead girl that's slowly making her ways towards our tent, my knife going through her skull without meeting any resistance. I see Morgan doing the same thing not ten feet from me, and for a few moments after, there are no more. We all stand silently, listening out for anymore unwanted sounds. I sigh a breath of relief. Maybe that was all there were.

"Wooooweee!" Merle laughs, patting his brother on the back. "That was one hell of a surprise."

Daryl grunts in response, going over to one of the dead walkers, his boot stomping down on its chest as he rips out one of the black arrows from its skull.

Glenn comes around from his tent, a bloody axe in his hand.

"Are we all accounted for?" Shane barks, looking around.

I nod my head, confirming Hayley and I are fine. Carol and Sophia too.

"What the hell was that?" Sasha yells. "Shouldn't someone have been on watch? We should have seen this coming!" I watch as Tyreese comes up behind her, resting his hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down with his touch.

"We're just lucky no one got hurt." Glenn says aloud.

"We ought to figure out a watch schedule." Daryl mumbles from behind Shane, causing Shane to turn around and look at him.

"We're workin' on it." Shane says harshly, giving Daryl a cold glare.

I'm about to say something when I'm cut off by a scream coming from the woods. We all turn towards it in shock. Who's not here?

I see Morgan sprinting in the direction of the scream, gun in hand when I realize I know who's missing.

Duane and Jenny.

Fuck. This can't be good.

**Remember – KEEP REVIEWING! As long as you review most of the chapters, you'll get a oneshot at the end of the story! (:**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey Everyone!**

**Thanks a bunch for all the reviews your sending in! Reviews give us SO MUCH motivation! Remember to keep reviewing (: Even if you don't start reading this story until its complete, you can always have the chance to get the oneshot, as long as you review most chapters (:**

**This is one of our favorite chapters that we've written so far, so enjoy!**

**Applesauce & Pudding,**

**Dino-SOAR & herUSMCdream**

**Hayley POV – **

There are screams, and I see Morgan go running, Shane and Glenn not far behind. Who knew the Asian had balls? Who the fuck isn't here? Who's screaming?

I look around, trying to count as I see each person start to spring into action. There are fifteen of us altogether.

Shane, check; Glenn, check; Daryl, check; Merle, check; Victoria, check; Sophia, check… I count quickly, and notice Jenny and Duane are missing as soon as I'm finished. Oh no. Not them. I feel my eyes watering. Now that I think of it, it was definitely a woman's scream.

Victoria and I make eye contact, and she frowns, probably thinking the same shit I am, that Jenny's probably not going to come back, before I see her start running after the boys.

There's more earsplitting screams coming from the woods and I notice that they gain momentum. Jenny sounds so heartbreaking. I hear the men shouting to each other, but I can't tell what they're saying. I'm frozen in place for a moment, as I watch Morgan's face contort in fear and determination. I can feel tears rolling down my cheeks, my lip quivering and my eyes are blurry and I finally manage to bury my face into my hands, quiet sobs coming out of my mouth, as my shoulders shake under the pressure. There's so much death in this world.

"Are you ok?" I hear a soft voice ask me. I look up to see Sasha, her hand resting on my shoulder. I nod, looking down and trying to discretely wipe at my face and eyes. I take a few deep breaths, trying to control my ever-exploding emotions. Once I've composed myself, I look up to see Sasha still there.

We stare at each other for a moment before I speak. "Sorry."

"It's ok." She smiles politely. "Sometimes people just need a moment."

"I'm pathetic." I mumble. Why the hell was I so weak?

"No you're not. You're stronger than you know. Not everyone knows _how_ to cry."

I smile, "Thanks, but I'd rather not be able to. I feel like all I've been doing is crying since this whole thing happened." I start to walk away a bit, but stop when I notice that everyone is awkwardly quiet. Their heads are all faced in the same direction, and I use my eyes to follow their path of sight to see Glenn emerging from the trees with a look of utter despair.

"Jenny's ok." He mumbles, when he's close enough to be heard.

I breathe a sigh of relief, a small grin starting to spread across my face as I realize her and Duane must've just been afraid and didn't have any weapons on them to attack the walker that was most likely chasing them. It quickly disappears though when I see that neither Glenn nor the rest of the group are smiling with me.

"Jenny's ok." He repeats slowly, his voice starting to crack. "But Duane. . ." He trails off, tears in his eyes. The tension can be cut with a knife as we wait for Glenn to finish.

"Well get on wit' it boy!" Merle yells from across the campground.

"He was bit." He chokes out.

More murmuring comes from all around me and I hear Carol choke down a sob, tightening her grip around Sophia.

My eyes glaze over and I look to Glenn in a trance like state, for once not crying. "How?" I say, barely loud enough for anyone to hear.

"Walkers" he says, shaking his head slowly back and forth as if he can't possibly wrap his brain around what he just saw.

"What do you think they're gonna do?"

He sighs, looking at the ground, wiping at his eyes. "There's nothing to do."

"Will they kill him?"

"Do you want them to?" Lori snaps from where she stands next to Carol.

"No!" I yell, "But… if they don't… won't he turn into a walker?"

"They could always shoot him after he's died on his own." Daryl says, walking to stand next to me.

"Yeah. True." I mumble. After that, everyone is quiet, waiting for the rest of the group members to return. I sit down in the spot I was just standing in, feeling drained and weak, bringing my knees to my chest and resting my head on top of them. Daryl moves to sit next to me, placing his crossbow lightly on the ground.

It seems like hours when I suddenly hear the yelling of Morgan not too far away. I bring my head up to see him carrying an extremely bloody Duane, followed by a sobbing, red-faced Jenny.

"Morg-" I hear Shane start to say.

"Get the hell away from my boy!" Morgan snaps, his face red and tear-stained.

"He bit?" Daryl asks in a gruff voice from his spot next to me, his back straightening as he tries to get a good look at the kid without standing. This causes Jenny to burst into another fit of tears, her knees giving way and dropping to the ground. Tyreese and Sasha are quick to help her up, trying to comfort her as she's lifted to her feet.

"He bit?" Daryl asks again, grabbing his crossbow and standing up.

"Yeah," Shane bellows, anger strung into his voice, "He's fuckin' bit, you redneck, douchebag!"

"Hey now. That's my baby brotha' you talkin' to, I'd watch it if I were you." Merle interjects, getting on the defensive side.

"We oughta' put him down then!" Victoria says, stepping out from next Glenn, to stand on the other side of me, her arms crossed.

"We are not killers!" Lori says from around the dead fire, Carl standing next to her, his eyes staying on Morgan and Duane as Morgan brings him over to their car. I look past them to see Carol hugging Jenny to her, speaking softly into her ear. When no one answers her she continues. "We can't just kill a child! It's not right or human. Shane, tell them."

I see Shane look between both her and Victoria clearly conflicted before he walks towards Lori, his arm going around her as he says in a stern voice. "We won't kill him. End of story."

"Who made you and your bitch boss of this group?" Merle bellows, drawing close to Shane. Shane drops his arm from around Lori and steps forward, meeting Merle halfway. I see that Merle clearly has some height on him, but it doesn't faze Shane one bit, because he doesn't back down in the slightest.

"I never said I was boss. But I'll tell you one thing, if you ever call her a bitch or even do so much as lay a fuckin' finger on that kid, I will tear your filthy head from off your tiny fuckin' neck and feed it to the walkers."

Merle glares at him, and for a moment, they're less than an inch from each other's faces. Suddenly, a smile breaks out on Merle's face. "Well than, Officer Ugly's got some balls!" He shouts happily, clapping his hands together. He laughs obnoxiously, walking back towards his Daryl, who was quietly taking in the situation from beside me.

"We all need to go to Fort Benning. We can't stay here" Shane finally announces. "Not after that. There could be more any moment and I'm not about to lose another. Everyone grab your shit. We leave in ten."

With that, everyone parts, Victoria and I walking back to our tent in silence to finish the packing we had previously started.

We've been driving for no more than half an hour when someone beeps their horn, stopping the line of cars from moving forward. We all come to a stop, Shane pulling over our cramped truck. Glenn runs up to Shane, whispering quickly and I see Shane nod his head and turn back to us. "We're gonna find someplace to rest for the night. Duane. . . doesn't have much time. Gonna let his parents say their goodbyes."

I see Victoria nod, and I can't help but feel anxious. Who on earth would have that awful job of killing the boy when the time came? I assume Morgan, but I can't help but think of how traumatized I would be if I had to put down my own child.

"Why we stop?" Tyreese yells from a car behind us, standing behind his open door.

I watch from the passenger mirror as Glenn runs over to him and explains the situation, then walking over to Daryl and Merle to do the same thing.

"Where are we going to stay?" I ask.

"We'll find a place to hold up in for the night. Keep an eye out for signs." He says. I nod, and turn to stare out my window as he pulls the truck back out onto the road, the rest of the cars following behind him.

Twenty minutes later we all step out of our cars and trucks, and I look up at the small, two-story gray building. At one point, it was a motel that offered high-speed Internet for only 35 bucks a night, now it was going to be serve as our resting place for the next couple of days.

"We'll hold up here." Shane says loudly, taking control again. "Merle, Daryl you guys take the right side of the motel and make sure it's clear, Tyresse, you're with me and we'll check out the left."

"What about the rest of us?" Victoria asks annoyed, not liking that she has to stay behind.

"Stay put." He says glaring at her, and I can see Victoria about to start an argument with him, before she closes her mouth tightly and stomps to the back of the truck, her hands balled into fists.

"Ew." I mumble, looking at the horrible condition it's in before following her. There is a flat rooftop, and I assume that's why Shane chose this place. It's a lot easier for keeping watch than where we were at before.

Daryl, Merle, Shane and Tyreese quickly form into a small group and start to clear out the place. They're out fairly quickly, Daryl mumbling about the only walkers in sight were what he was guessing as the Indian family that owned the place. Merle mumbles something about dotheads and I hear Victoria try and contain her laugh as she grabs our bags, which in turn makes me chuckle. I could definitely get used to having Merle and his very attractive brother around.

Over to my right, I see Morgan lifting Duane out of the backseat of the car, blood still pouring from the back of his shoulder where he got bit and carrying him into one of the already unlocked rooms. Jenny follows solemnly behind, and closes the door quietly. The rest of us are quiet as we watch them walk into the room, already mourning the loss of our first person.

"Got the keys!" Glenn yells, and I look up from grabbing my bag from Victoria to see him holding up a bunch of small credit-card looking keys. Classy.

"We need to figure out a watch schedule." Tyreese mentions, walking over to where Victoria and I are standing.

"Hayley," Shane starts, "Why don't you take first watch?"

"Um…" I begin, sort of confused. "Ok."

"There needs to be two people on at all times. The shifts will overlap." He announces. "Hayley, you'll be on your own the first hour, after that," He looks around, scanning the crowd, "Any takers?"

"I'll do it." Daryl grunts from where he and Merle are standing by their piece of shit truck, looking down at his crossbow and poking the top of an arrow.

"Daryl will join you after the first hour, and two hours after that you'll find someone to take over your shift. An hour after that, someone will take Daryl's shift and so on. Three hours per person. Fool-proof system, so everyone can get enough sleep." Shane seems proud of himself by the end of his stupid speech and takes Lori's hand in his, grabbing a key from Glenn before him, Lori and Carl walk into one of the rooms. Clearly, Shane had appointed himself the leader of our group.

"Yeah, ok." I say indifferently, to the closed door before walking over to Victoria who is heading toward the abounded room between Shane, Lori, and Carl's and Glenn, Sasha and Tyreese's.

"Sorry, I kinda forgot to tell you that Shane wanted us to start taking watch." Victoria says once we've reached the door.

"Why didn't he pick you then?" I say, annoyed.

"I don't know! He's probably testing you."

"Lovely."

"Besides, you get to take watch with you-know-who." She winks, her crooked smiling coming out.

I sigh, picking at one of my nails as we enter the room then look up to examine the disgusting place. Well, at least it has a toilet. "Even better. Not only do I get to have a chance to get half of us killed, but I get to embarrass myself while doing it."

"Oh hush, Maltzy. You'll do fine. Just make sure to wake me after, and I'll take next shift." She smiles, patting my arm lightly and then moving to dump her bag onto the multicolored comforter atop her bed.

Shane walks in behind me a moment later, glancing around the room.

"Not too shabby." He says.

I scoff; not even knowing how he can think _this_ is not shabby. "It's pretty gross, dude."

"What are you doing here?" Victoria asks, annoyance evident in her voice. She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at him.

"Well it's a good thing you're first watch then, huh?" He says sarcastically ignoring Victoria completely as he smirks at me. I can practically see Victoria rolling her eyes as she starts unpacking some of the things from her bag.

"Yeah." I mumble, leaving the motel room and the sexual tension that seemed to have come into it as soon as Shane entered. I walk up the stairs until I reach the roof and look around, not knowing what to do. _The trees seem pretty still_ I think hoping that nothing will pop out of them anytime soon.

"Hey, dumbass." Victoria speaks from behind me, making me jump slightly. "You forgot a weapon." She throws a small gun to me.

"Victoria Rose Parks!" I mock yell, "Throwing guns is not safe!"

She smirks, "The safety's on."

"Why is there a safety on a gun? Aren't guns not supposed to be safe?"

She stares at me blankly, clearly not knowing how to respond. "Your brain is definitely one of your biggest flaws."

I make a random noise and hideous face, not even bothering to make sure it's only the two of us.

"Gosh, you're so embarrassing." I hear her say, mostly to herself as she goes back down the stairs.

I smile, inwardly laughing at myself as I sit down at the edge of the roof. Gosh, I'm hilarious. I examine the piece of metal in my hands. It's heavy, but not as heavy as I was expecting. Who the hell throws a gun? I roll my eyes at the thought of _throwing_ a _gun_ at somebody.

Not too long later, I hear footsteps coming up the stairs again. I turn around to see Daryl walking towards me, crossbow in hand.

"Hey." I say, looking back towards the trees.

He grunts in response.

"Well aren't you a chatty Kathy."

He grunts again, but I notice before he comes to sit next to me, his lips twitching in amusement.

We're silent for what seems like hours, until I'm pulled out of my thoughts by a loud bellowing coming from below us. I look to see Merle walking out of his room, stumbling towards their old truck, yelling incoherent words. When he finally seems to find his way to the back of it, he lies down in the bed of the truck and falls asleep immediately. Deep, loud snores travel up towards us and I can't help but think of TJ.

"Sorry 'bout him." Daryl mumbles.

I shake my head, "Don't apologize for his actions. Like I said, I get it. My brother has some problems too."

He grunts again, not looking at me.

"Don't be embarrassed about him." I say, understanding the feeling of being brought down by family. "Not your fault he is the way he is."

"Yer' brotha… Coke?"

"And various other drugs. How long has Merle been like that?"

"Few years. Since he tried it."

"TJ tried oxycontin at age twelve. He refers to it as 'love at first sight'."

"Young." He states simply.

"Yeah. He's a good guy though. The best." I feel my eyes welling up at the thought of never seeing him again. I wipe them quickly, before Daryl can see them.

"Hey now, you listen here." He says sternly, grabbing my chin, so that I have to look him in the eyes. "Unless you seen a body, there ain't no reason to cry, yah' hear?"

I nod, wiping my tears away as he releases my chin and look down at my hand that is so close to his. "I've never had to go through anything without him. He's always been there for me. Even when he missed my high school graduation, and me moving into college, cause of his problems, I knew he was still there. But now, I'm basically alone." I say quietly.

"You ain't alone. You got that blonde chick." He grunts. I can't help but chuckle at his lack of knowledge on her name.

"Yeah. I guess I do." I say, looking back up into his eyes as I smile at him. We hold eye contact for a few moments longer than normal, before I can tell he is starting to feel uncomfortable and looks away.

"Ought' to go get someone else. Your watch's up." He grumbles, turning his back so he's facing the trees.

I sigh, not liking the dismissal one bit. I turn when I'm almost to the stairs to see his eyes scanning the streets and climb down to go get Victoria, disappointment running through me.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:**

**Hey guys! Another chapter is finished! YAY! This chapter in particular was very much a collaboration piece. Dino-SOAR and I really went back and forth on this one trying to make it work. For some odd reason, this chapter just didn't seem to want to be born. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy and please don't hesitate to tell us what you think. The more you guys review, the happier we are to write more so keep 'em comin'!**

**Nostrils and Toe Hairs,**

**herUSMCdream & Dino-SOAR **

**Victoria POV - **

"Fuck Shane and his stupid fuckin' ideas where I only get four hours of sleep," I mumble to myself, as I stomp up the old painted black, metal stairs leading to the rooftop, so I can take my rightful position next to Daryl.

"Hey," I mumble to him as I finally reach the top of the stairs, leading to the top of the building. He turns to face me and groans out his response, awkwardly shifting in his spot near the edge of the roof when he notices that it's me. I walk over to him slowly, plopping my ass down to the right of him and for once I'm actually happy that my partner could care less whether or not I feel like talking.

I inhale deeply and look up at the sky to see there are billions of stars that can be seen, the moon huge and bright, making it easier to see what's around us. To the left of the beat down motel is a forest that spans most of the highway, with only a couple of areas of large acreage that is completely open. To the right of the motel is a strip of rundown buildings, and a small gas station that only holds two pumps. We'd all definitely have to go there sometime before we leave if we're going to make it to Fort Benning without having to make any extra pit stops.

"Nice night, don't yah' think?" I eventually ask Daryl, trying to make some conversation so that I didn't end up falling asleep.

The only answer I receive is another grunt.

"Man of few words, eh? No wonder Hayley is interested in you. She must like the whole mysterious thing you have going on." I say, playfully wagging my eyebrows up and down when he looks over at me from the corner of his eyes, his face turning a slight pink-ish color. How fuckin' cute. Big, bad, redneck might also have an interest in the midget. Well, well, well, this could be very interesting.

"You know, Hayley isn't all that bad once you get to know her. She has her weird quirks, awkward moments, and obnoxious personality at times but she really does mean well." I continue when he awkwardly shifts again, and grin because of his reaction. "She's also really pretty. Her last boyfriend was a dick though. You better treat her right or I'll chop your balls off."

"I ain't interested in anybody." He finally says gruffly, turning to glare at me.

"Just remember what I said," I reply, smiling at him.

He doesn't say anything after that, and turns his attention to the dark woods. I sigh, giving up on trying to give him a hard time about my best friend and turn my own attention back to the open road and notice a figure walking towards us.

"Walker!" I whisper harshly to Daryl and see him quickly jump to his feet, drawing his crossbow, squinting his eyes at the shapeless silhouette.

"Ain't no walker." He mumbles. "Go back inside." He orders.

"No! I can handle myself." I insist, scrambling up to stand next to him. He glares at me, but says nothing as he starts to descend down the stairs, crossbow wielded.

"I'm gonna' go get the others." I say as we reach the bottom step, running around him as he approaches the man, who is now raising up his arms in surrender.

Who the fuck in their right mind would walk alone at night? Then again, I did want to explore earlier this morning and would've if it weren't for the walkers that decided to overrun our makeshift camp ground.

I run towards Shane, Lori and Carl's room, my fists pounding on the door when I reach it. A bare chested, pissed off Shane opens it, Lori and Carl standing sleepily behind him, and I can tell that he's about to ream me a new one when he sees my face. "What's wrong?"

"There's a person walking towards the motel."

"A person?" He asks, his face showing his disbelief as he grabs a navy blue T-shirt that is hanging off the ratty chair in their room and throws it on.

I roll my eyes at him. "That's what I just said, isn't it? Daryl went to -"

I'm cut off by a loud grunt and spin to see Daryl holding the back of some man's brown police shirt. The man stands about two inches taller than Daryl and has curly brown-ish hair. A sharp gasp comes from behind me when Daryl pushes the man, making him trip into a patch of light, and I whirl around again to see Lori with her hand covering her mouth, a wide-eyed Shane and a slack jawed Carl beside between them.

"Dad!" Carl screams suddenly, running towards the man with his arms reached wide so that he can wrap them around his father's waist when he reaches him.

"Dad?" I ask, my brows furrowing as I look in between Shane and Lori, confused as fuck to what is going on. I thought that Carl was Shane's kid. I turn again to see the man now down on his knees, hugging Carl tightly as he cries, Daryl standing awkwardly behind the pair as they reunite.

"Lori." The tall man says all of a sudden as he lifts his head to look over his son. A sob is heard from behind me and then a blur of a thin body is running past me and into the arms of the man, her own arms going around his neck and hugging him close to her chest.

What the hell is going on?! I look over to Daryl again and see he has the same confused face as I do.

"What's going on?" I hear Hayley ask sleepily, a snort erupting from her nose as she comes out of our room, and turn to my right to see her hair sticking up all over the place as she tries to rub the sleep from her eyes. I look behind her to see that Glenn, Sasha and Tyreese aren't too far behind; clearly they too had heard some of the ruckus and came to make sure everything was okay.

"Carl's dad is here." I whisper to her, as she comes to stand next to me, questioning myself even as I say it to her.

"But I thought –" she begins and then stops; looking towards Shane who has been frozen in the same spot since he first saw the man.

"Yeah, I know," I deadpan.

"Anyone want to explain what's going on?" Sasha asks suddenly.

The man is the one to answer the question, and I watch as he stands to his full height, his arms going around both Carl and Lori. "I'm Rick." He says, letting the arm that is around Lori's shoulders to extend towards her.

I look over to Shane once again, to see that he is now glaring at Rick but smoothes his face into an expressionless mask when he notices I've been staring.

"Ok Rick, that explains absolutely nothing." I sarcastically retort, as Sasha shakes his hand tenderly, a small smile on her face.

"Rick is my dad." Carl interjects, looking up at his father proudly, a huge grin on his face. I watch as Rick looks down at him, tugging him closer to his body as he smiles back at his son.

"And my husband." Lori says, with love in her voice and unshed tears in her eyes. I notice Shane clench and unclench his fists at Lori's added comment, his lips in a thin line as his eyes scan the trio.

"Wait – what?" Hayley asks, sleep still in her voice. "But you and Shane-" She starts but is stopped short by the glare that is thrown her way by Shane. I lightly jab her in the ribs and shake my head back and forth slowly, getting the hint that there is a lot more to the story that we both don't know about. When I turn to look back at Rick, I notice Daryl shooting daggers at Shane from across the way, and I can't help but think that maybe he has more feelings for our little Maltzy than even I realized.

"Tits and hoes all over the place!" Merle shouts, lifting himself up from the bed of the truck as he laughs loudly at himself, before dropping back down to pass back out again. I chuckle lightly, shaking my head at his stupidity.

"How did you survive?" Glenn asks, ignoring Merle, clearly knowing the story behind all this.

"I don't know. A miracle, maybe." Rick says, his voice smooth and the southern drawl is a comforting change. I see a small smile playing on his lips before he leans over and kisses Lori on the cheek, love and devotion written all over his face. I hear a slight growl coming from the left of me and am not surprised to see Shane stepping forward as if he was going to hit Rick before he stops himself and takes a deep inhale, closing his eyes for a moment as if to get himself under control.

"Rick, man, how did you get out of there? There was no way…" Shane trails off, feigning shock as he finally walks towards the man in question and brings what I'm assuming is his old friend, into a tight hug.

"Thank you so much, Shane." He says as they step back from their embrace. "You saved my family, and I will never be able to repay you enough for that." They never seem to break eye contact with each other and I see Shane slightly nod his head at the silent conversation they're having.

"Where did you come from?" Tyreese asks, breaking the silence.

"I got separated from a group I was with." Rick says, wrapping his arm around Lori to draw her close to him as his voice takes on a melancholy edge. "Two of the men got into a fight, and caused a few of the dead to sneak up on us. People died. But others ran, and I've been trying to find them. I got separated in the process. I've been trying to find my way back for a few hours now."

"And instead you found us." Lori says, smiling softly as she wraps both her long arms around his waist.

"It's more than I could have ever hoped for." He returns the smile, rubbing the top of Carl's head. There's a feeling of happiness in the air for a minute or two, a feeling that's welcome after the long few days it's been.

Moments later, the happy reunion is ruined by a loud painful cry that is coming from inside one of the rooms. Jenny's scream, I conclude. Fuck, this can't be good. I watch as Daryl quickly wields his crossbow again, ready, as the rest of us turn our heads towards the outdated door that has the number '08' on it.

"What's happening?" Rick asks, to no one in particular.

"A kid was bit." Shane replies, "He hasn't been doin' so hot lately. We think he'll… pass soon." He says, a sharp edge in his voice as he speaks to Rick, his eyes glazing over Lori and Carl protectively. Jenny's loud heartbreaking sobs can be heard from where I'm standing about twenty feet away and I can tell that some of the people in the group are starting to get nervous. Carol, who I didn't even notice had joined us until now, quickly steers Sophia back into their room, closing the door quietly behind them.

"The noise is going to attract the walkers." I say, looking in the direction of Shane.

"Fuck." He curses, glaring at the door, his jaw clenched and hands balled into tight fists as he decides on what to do next.

"We're gonna have to put him down soon."

"I know!" he shouts at me, his head snapping around so that I am now the one getting his fierce glare. I meet his eyes, not backing down, but slightly startled by his hostility to me stating the obvious. This seems to piss him off more. I watch as he starts to head towards their door, Rick following suit.

"You can't just kill the kid." Rick says, grabbing Shane by the upper arm to stop him from walking further than he already has.

"Rick, I've been taking care of this group long enough and seen enough walkers to know what to do. That kid's been bit, and _will _turn soon. I won't lose anymore people just because the parent's didn't want to lose their already dead son." He snaps back, clearly stating whose boss while shaking his arm free from Rick's grasp.

"Shane!" Rick replies, but he doesn't stay long enough to listen.

"Morgan! Jenny!" Shane calls out, knocking on the door loudly, so that he can be heard over the sounds that are going on inside the room. "Open up!"

He knocks loudly on it again, when there is no answer, this time adding in a few good kicks for added effect. I am frozen in place as I see Rick walk over to him, standing close behind, as if getting ready to hold him back from doing something stupid, before he holds out one of his hands and places it on Shane's shoulder, the other going to his chest, making Shane stop immediately. Shane's body language changes quickly, clearly not liking how Rick is trying to take control of the situation.

The cries from inside grow louder as Rick squeezes past Shane and opens up the door slowly, peeking his head inside. He steps back a moment later and I see both Shane and Rick's eyes meet before Shane opens the door further.

I gasp loudly at the scene in front of me, a hand finding its way to my mouth. Morgan is desperately attempting CPR on Duane, tears pouring out of his eyes, and onto the bloody boy's body, Jenny on her knees next to them bawling her eyes out as she grips at her chest. I make a move to walk towards them but can't help but freeze in place as I realize I have no clue what I could do to help or even if they would want help.

Shane and Rick quickly walk through the archway and close the door firmly behind, the sounds of grunts and sobs dimming down to background noise once again. I turn to look around through blurry eyes and see Lori is wrapping her arms around Carl's shoulders, whispering comforting words into his ears as small tears fall from his eyes, while Sasha, Tyreese and Glenn are speaking in hushed whispers about what they had just witnessed. When I look over at Hayley, I notice that her eyes are wide and tears are slowly falling down her face. Daryl seems to have found his way next to her, as if to keep a close eye on, but not touching her.

"They have to put him down." I whisper to no one in particular, my eyes closing as tears threaten to fall over the edge. No one hears me. I hear more shouting coming from inside the room, mostly men's voices. The screaming increases, though I can't make out any of the words no matter how hard I try to. I hear something clearly made of glass smashing against one of the walls and not a moment later an echoing gunshot.

Shane storms out of the room, stopping only for a second to look at us all, the door closing quietly behind him. I step forward as if to walk over to him to see if he's alright, but am stopped in my tracks when he storms towards me with determination in his eyes. He's glances at Lori quickly as he storms towards me and I open my mouth to ask him what he's doing when he grabs the back of my head and crushes my mouth to his.

His lips are rough and soft all at once, but I don't have much time to process everything because just as suddenly as he started the kiss, he is breaking it.

I'm frozen in place as he walks away, the only sound that can be heard are footsteps stomping up the stairs and the sobs of Jenny through the door.


	15. Chapter 15

**Authors note:**

**Review! (:**

**Tits & Hoes,**

**Dino-SOAR & herUSMCdream**

**Hayley POV – **

It's a damn beautiful day. Kind of ironic, considering how miserable we all are after losing a kid. To me, it just doesn't feel right. The sun is too bright. I feel like it should be raining. The flowers are in full bloom, their colors standing out from the tall grass. I feel like there should be dead roses littering the open field that Daryl pointed out from the rooftop last night. The ground is soft and slightly moist, a perfect day for gardening if any of us was gardeners and we weren't in the middle of trying to survive. Our various cars are lined up along the side of the road, a good one hundred feet from us so that if the walkers come, it'll be an easy get-away. I look down at the hole Glenn has been digging for the past thirty minutes, his gray shirt clinging to his sweaty body as he grunts with every piece of dirt and rock that comes up with his shovel, before my hand goes up near my forehead to help block the sun as I squint into the distance, taking in everyone else's positions.

Rick is under a large willow tree, bending so that he can talk to Carl and Sophia softly while Lori smiles from her spot next to them, her attention going from between her small family and Carol. I look a little to their right and see Shane standing awkwardly to the side, observing them closely, his face contorted into one of annoyance. Tyreese and Sasha have distanced themselves, sitting on the ground, their legs outstretched as their eyes scan the surrounding trees. From where I'm standing next to Victoria, I can't tell if they're talking or not. Daryl's standing with Merle over by another tree not far from the first groups with Merle leaning against the trunk of it, talking cars and girls with Daryl, though Daryl doesn't seem to be responding. Everything seems quiet and I can't help but think that's it's most likely due to a form of respect for the Jones family.

"So…" I say awkwardly, turning towards Victoria to see that she's biting one of her nails before she looks at me expectantly, her hand dropping from her mouth.

"You and Shane, eh?" I say, wiggling my eyebrows and smiling knowingly.

"Don't even start." She retorts, rolling her eyes.

"I wasn't going to," I reply, my grin getting wider. She looks at me, her eyebrow raised. "Ok I was and am going to. You got your first kiss cherry popped!"

"Shhh," she shushes me, her hand moving up to cover my mouth, so I do the only thing I know will both piss her off and make her move it. I lick the palm of her hand.

"Ew! You're so gross!" She squeals, rubbing her hand across the sleeve of my shirt to get the slime off. "And I hate you so fuckin' much!"

I chuckle, almost doubling over which makes her even angrier than she already is. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" She starts yelling at me, her hands now beginning to slap wherever they can reach. This only makes me laugh harder, but I'm shut up immediately by the next thing she says, a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she lets me straighten. "Besides, I see you and Daryl seem to fancy each other."

She smiles a bit, as Daryl seems to make his way towards us, as if he knew we were talking about him.

"Shut up!" I mumble, looking away as Daryl stops walking once he's about ten feet away from us, standing by the grave sort of awkwardly, and his crossbow across his back.

"That's what I thought. Don't like when I have the upper hand do yah'?" She states sarcastically as she crosses her arms in front of her, a smug smile on her face.

Suddenly there's a low hum coming from a car engine, and I look up to see Morgan's beat up car pulling up next to our truck. Relief washes through me for a moment, before the situation at hand catches up with me. I take a deep, shuttering breath, not ready to see the two parents Victoria and I have come to be quite fond of, as they bury their only child.

Jenny is the first one out of the car, her face showing complete and utter devastation that her son is gone. My heart breaks just a little more, as I watch Morgan come out of the car next, and open up the driver's side back door, bending down to retrieve Duane. A second later, he comes back up, and I see him holding a multicolored sheet wrapped body. He carries him bridal style towards us, a look of pain etched onto his face. Jenny doesn't take her eyes off the body, and I can't even imagine what it must be like to lose a child.

I feel my eyes well up, and turn my head so I don't have to look at the sad image in front of me. My eyes meet Daryl's just as sad expression. A tear falls from my eye and onto the ground and I watch as he steps closer to me, resting one of his large hands on the back of my shoulder as if he is helping me draw strength from him.

"Ain't need ta' cry." He mumbles softly as I feel his breath against my ear and neck.

"You said don't cry if there's not a body. There is." I say, my voice getting harsh at the end. "I'm allowed to cry." It's a fucking funeral after all, but I don't say that part out loud.

It's quiet as Morgan lowers Duane into the hole and I notice that he is struggling to keep his composure. I see Glenn wipe his eyes softly, turning his head slightly, embarrassed. Everyone has made his or her way over to the grave, aside from Merle who keeps his distance, leaning up against the same tree he was previously at with Daryl.

Jenny bursts into tears, falling to her knees, and I watch as Lori and Carol rush to her side. They lift her to her feet and Lori whispers something in her ear but I don't think Jenny really cares at the moment, because she makes no indication that she heard what Lori said, her eyes staying on Morgan in the hole as he gently rests Duane's head down. He drops to his knees, clutching his lifeless son to his chest and I wipe the tears streaming down my face, turning my head to look at Victoria to see her doing the same thing. I'm still aware of Daryl's comforting touch, his thumb softly rubbing the back of my shoulder as he stands a slight distance behind me.

The only sounds that are in the makeshift graveyard are the soft sobs coming from Jenny and Morgan, not even the birds that had previously been chirping seem to be singing. I expect Rick and Shane to try and coax Morgan away who is still sobbing into his son's body, but they don't. They allow him a few moments to grieve. I wonder if he'll ever step out on his own, or if he'll need someone to force him to. I sure as hell wouldn't want to be that person.

He eventually comes out, only to quickly turn around and look down at his sons' body one last time. He seems to be considering jumping back in and I swallow, only now noticing, that Daryl is no longer touching me, though he's standing in the same position behind me.

"Would anyone like to say a few words?" Rick breaks the silence. No one says anything and not because they don't want to, but because I don't think anyone knows what to say.

"I never had the pleasure of meeting Duane-" Rick begins; taking control of what no one else is willing to.

"Don't." Morgan barks. Rick stops immediately, and it's quiet again, the only sound being heard is Jenny's low sobs and the wind whistling.

"Would you like help burying him?" Rick asks, once again being the only one to seem to have enough balls to break the silence.

Morgan shakes his head slowly. "No. Please just-" his voice cracks and he turns his head slightly, not wanting anyone to see his tears. "Go." He finishes.

A few people take the not-so-subtle hint to leave and begin to walk towards the vacant cars. I look to Victoria and make eye contact with her, asking with my eyes whether or not we should stay or go. She shrugs slightly and moves after a few moments of awkward decision-making on her part. The only people that seem to stay are Jenny, Morgan, Rick and Lori. I turn back to see Carol placing her hand over Jenny's shoulder in a way of apologizing for her loss before walking over to Lori to whisper something to her. Loris nods her head, her face showing her gratitude and then I watch as Carol leads Sophia and Carl to our truck.

"Ready guys?" Victoria asks trying to divert everyone's thoughts away from the funeral. No one answers and a second later her door opens and Shane is pushing her aside, just like the first time he got into the vehicle.

"Hey!" Victoria yells and I crack a grin, the tension in the car slightly leaving as she starts the bickering between her and Shane.

"I told you, you suck at driving. No need for anyone else to get killed while we're here." Shane retorts, starting up the car.

Victoria opens up her mouth again, to argue but Shane quickly covers it with his hand. A moment later he takes it away and looks down at it before he looks to her and in a cocky voice says "Sweetheart, I can find a much better place to put that tongue."

Victoria turns a deep shade of red and turns away from him and I can't help but laugh as she looks at me. Clearly the whole licking palm thing doesn't turn Shane off. Ok, slightly gross, but completely entertaining. I watch as she glares at me before turning back to the front of the car, sulking in her seat as she stares out the window.

I make a move to step out of the truck as soon as we're back at the motel and start heading towards my room, ready to sleep off my emotions, Victoria walking next to me as we enter.

"Why the hell didn't you stay?" I hear from outside my room about an hour later.

"You wanted to be alone." Another voice says sternly. My brows furrow and I watch as Victoria stumbles out of her bed, her bun low and messy on the back of it so that she can open the door and peek out at all the commotion.

"I thought you were supposed to be our leader!" The first voice replies, and I notice this one seems to have a lot of pain mixed in with it.

"You wanted to be alone! I ain't gonna' take control of _your wishes."_ The second voice barks, and I realize that it's Shane's, when I finally manage to step outside. His face is red and his hands are balled into fists as he glares at Morgan. They stare at each other for a moment, before I see Morgan sigh harshly and storm into his and Jenny's room, slamming the door behind him as he goes. Clearly the whole thing was being blown out of proportion.

A car rolls up not too long after; an upset looking Rick gets out of the car, followed by a just as hurt Lori. I notice her figure for the first time and would kill to look like her. She's tall, thin and beautiful. I can't help but wish to be her height, instead of my tiny 4' 11". She pushes her brown hair out of her eyes and I look over just in time to see Shane staring at her, with lust evident in his eyes.

"Where's Carl?" She asks aloud, walking over to Shane.

"In your room. He said he was tired." Shane answers, nodding in the direction of the room that him and Lori used to share but now Rick occupies with her. I watch as Rick steps over to her and grabs her hand. She turns to him and smiles adoringly at him, before turning back to Shane to give him a small smile. Rick and Lori walk away a second later, still hand in hand, saying nothing more and closing the door gently behind them. I inhale deeply, going back into my room to try and sleep the rest of the day away.

"Get up!" Shane yells, what seems like only a few moments later, ripping off the blankets that I had wrapped around me.

"What the fuck?" I ask, annoyed and confused by my intruder.

"Group meeting. Now!" He replies, leaving the door wide open as he leaves.

I groan, hating him for waking me up, but comply; not wanting to get him pissed more than he already is.

"Listen up everyone," he says loudly, causing several heads to turn in his direction. I see Victoria roll her eyes, but doesn't look at him, instead she just continues to look down at her short nails, picking at them.

"We need supplies, " He looks around, searching for Lori and maybe even Rick. He swallows loudly. "We need supplies." He repeats, "Food, guns, blankets, medicine, water." He lists off necessary items. "Me and Victoria will head out in an hour. Make a list if you need anything."

I freeze. Victoria? No. "No." I say, before Victoria can speak.

"It's not your choice." Shane glares at me.

"It's not yours either." Victoria steps forward from across from me, already making her way towards me so that she can stand next to me, her eyes flaring.

"You're coming." He demands.

"Why me?" She snaps, crossing her arms in front of her.

"If you want, I'll go instead." Glenn says, interrupting.

He acts like he doesn't hear him, and continues to talk to Victoria. "You either come and prove that you can be a team player, and be part of this group, or you can leave and take your little bitch with you. Your choice." He ends lowly. My jaw drops as she stares at him coldly.

"Fuck you." She says.

"Your either comin' or you can grab your shit and leave. Choose. Now."

Everyone is silent and I stare at Victoria in shock as she storms to our room, only to emerge seconds later tucking a black glock into her jeans. She doesn't look until she's next to Shane, her voice hard and clear as she says "After you, my dear."


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note:**

**Shout out to all the old and new followers that have come into this story so far! You guys all rock and we really appreciate your feedback. Review, review, review, and you WILL get rewarded!**

**With that said, onwards to the story!**

**Wet Undies & Tented Board Shorts,**

**herUSMCdream & Dino-SOAR **

**Victoria POV - **

This was a nightmare. Why didn't I just storm into my room the moment after Shane decided to kiss me, grab Hayley and my shit, and walk out? I don't know. Instead, I stood in the spot he left me in, staring after him with wide eyes, angry and confused on the decision he made. That was definitely not how I expected my first kiss to go.

Now, almost a day later, I'm still angry and confused but for a completely different reason.

"I can't believe you didn't let me drive my own truck." I say, pissed. I'm currently sitting next to Shane, my eyes trained on the old, beaten down buildings that we pass out my window as he speeds down the road in my truck. _My_ truck!

"I'm older, I can handle a vehicle with this much horse power." He replies, his voice taking on a harsh edge. Ugh, the man is such an arrogant asshole!

I roll my eyes at his stupid answer. "Age has nothing to do with it. I drove this thing all the way from Boston. Driving around empty streets in Georgia is like a piece of cake."

"Age has everything to do with it. So does experience. Do you even have your license? Maybe for a year or so by now? Well I've had mine for almost twenty years. You have no experience in a lot of things, sweetheart. I bet you haven't even had sex yet." He says.

"Whether or not I've had sex is none of your business and completely off topic!" I yell, my face starting to burn and I just know it's as red as a tomato. "Where are we going, anyway?" I add on at the end, hoping that I can change the subject.

He looks over at me briefly, a slight grin on his face. Oh fuck, I guess it wouldn't be that easy.

"You _are_ a virgin." He says with humor in his voice, his grin getting wider by the second.

"I said it's none of your business," I snap back, shifting in my seat and crossing my arms.

He looks over at me again but doesn't reply, just grins to himself and starts humming a happy tune. I seriously can't believe I got dragged into coming on this damn trip with him. Apparently the small stores and the gas station right next to the motel isn't good enough, because we still haven't even stepped foot onto the pavement.

"Just sit back and stop asking. You'll see when we get there." He snaps at me when I ask where we are going again, glaring out the windshield.

I cross my arms and making a "Hmph" sound, looking back out my window to see that there are now only trees outside it. Great, he's taking me into the middle of fucking nowhere to possibly steal my virginity and then kill me. I'll never see my parents or brother again. What about Hayley? God, I hope that Daryl takes good care of her when I'm gone.

"Make me a hero in your story." I say when my thoughts start to get too far out of hand.

"What?" he says, confusion clear in his voice.

"When you kill me. Tell Hayley that I died a hero or some shit. She'll be sad, but if you tell her I died a hero she'll eventually come to the conclusion that I died doing what I always wanted to do. Being a hero."

He turns to stare at me for a moment; his brown eyes boring into mine before he moves them back to the road. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"We've been driving for the better part of an hour and you haven't even pulled over to make a pit stop at one convenience store nor have I even seen one gun shop since the one I originally stopped at where we found Glenn. So my bad if I think that you're taking me somewhere so that you can kill me." I rant, never taking my eyes off him as I do.

He just stares at the road a moment longer and I can hear his teeth grinding together, before he swerves the car over to the right of the road, cutting the engine as soon as it's on the side. We're both quiet for a second and I can't help but think that this is it, this is the place I'm going to die.

Several loud pounds on the steering wheel make me jump and I look over to Shane once again to see him glaring at me. "You are so fuckin' infuriating!"

"Me?" I gawk, my voice rising to show my disbelief. "You're the one who has fuckin' control issues and thinks it's alright to use my best friend as bait!"

He scoffs at me, his hands tightening on the steering wheel but doesn't reply. Instead he just puts the car back on and drives away, only slowing down when we finally reach a small brick building that reads 'Morrow's Firearm School'.

What the fuck were we doing at a shooting range?

I get out first, not even waiting for him to stop the truck completely before I'm jumping out of it and walking away from him. The car door slamming and hard footsteps against the pavement trying to catch up to me are the only sounds heard as we make our way towards the entrance.

I'm stopped just before I can even make it to the huge double doors, by Shane gripping my upper arm and pulling me back as he steps in front of me. _God I hate when he does that!_

"I'll go in first. Stay behind me and don't make any loud noises, got it?" He says sternly, barely letting me have any time to answer before he is opening one of the doors.

"Yes, father." I mumble under my breath before following after him inside.

The inside of the building looks deserted. The sun that is shining brightly outside is shut out completely once we enter. Blackness surrounds us, making it extremely hard for me to see where I'm going or stepping. I trip over something big and hard, making my body land awkwardly against Shane's and I have just unclenched my hands from where they landed against his back when I feel one of his big, warm hands engulf mine, tugging me closer so that he can help lead me through the darkness. I smile slightly, thinking it's kind of adorable how he's trying to help me, for once.

Suddenly there is a loud creaking from a door opening and a blast of cool air coming from in front of me. Shane drops my hand and I'm left alone standing in what I believe to be an archway. My right hand immediately goes to my mouth so that I can start gnawing on my fingernail when his footsteps disappear not even a moment later.

"Shane?" I call out, starting to get worried.

No reply.

I step further into the darkened area, my hands going out in front of me as I try to find my way around the room.

"Shane?" I call out again, the fear running through my body clearly showing in my voice. "This isn't funny. Where the hell are you?"

Again, no reply.

"Shane! Stop being such a fucking douche bag!" I burst, stopping in place to stomp my foot, my hands going on my hips as my fear leads to anger and annoyance.

A low chuckle comes from behind me and strong arms wrap around me and I'm drawn into a hard chest. I struggle against them, knowing exactly who it is, but the arms only tighten around me more, making it near impossible to get out of his hold.

"You're such an asshole!" I yell, still struggling against him.

"You should've heard yourself; 'Shane? Shane, where are you? I'm scared Shane. Don't leave me.'" He mocks, his mouth so close to my ear, I can feel his warm breath.

I shiver, and I'm not exactly sure if it's because of the coldness throughout the room or him.

"I would never say 'don't leave me'." I respond, my voice seeming foreign and labored as I give up on struggling. He spins me around to face him and backs me into one of the walls. I can feel his breath fanning my face and I try to slink further into the wall so that he isn't so close, my hands that are slightly trembling, going to his chest to keep him back further as he puts his hands against the wall behind me.

"Sweetheart, you'd be surprised at what I can make you do." He says cockily, leaning further into me so that his legs are lightly brushing against mine. I blush at his statement but keep my composure when I push on his chest a little more and straighten up, which in turn makes his hands move from the wall, onto my hips.

"Wanna bet?" I ask, my voice cool as I raise an eyebrow, though I know he can't see it in the dark.

He chuckles and lets me go, one of his arms extending past me. A second later, the lights are thrown on and I have to blink a couple of times before I can fully see him. When my eyes finally adjust to the light, I can see that he is smiling widely, his eyes lighting up at the thought of a possible challenge. I watch as he crosses his arms in front of him, making his muscles bulge and the navy blue T-shirt he's wearing, stretch taught around them.

"What do I get if I win?"

"Anything you want," I state, but immediately regret it when I see his smile widen.

"Anything I want, eh? Well then. If I win, I get to give you your first orgasm." My jaw drops and I feel my face heating up again as I stare at him. He stares back and when I don't reply right away he says, "I knew you were a virgin."

I see red then, and glare at him, my mind already made up as soon as the last sentence leaves his mouth. "Fine. If I win though, which I will, you will never be able to drive my truck again."

"Come on sweetheart," he scoffs, stepping closer to me so that we are almost chest-to-chest. "We both know you can come up with something better than that."

I slightly lean back, looking anywhere but him. Behind him is a huge room, cleared of everything but two wood paneling walls that are waist high and are split in the middle by a large piece of wood. Another piece of wood lies on them, making it into a small makeshift counter so that people can lay down their ammunition, guns, goggles, and large protective headphones atop it. A yard away, stands a few life sized pieces of cardboard with the black silhouette of a person on it.

Once I'm done examining the room, I look back at him to see his eyebrows raised at me.

"Can't you come back to me or something? I don't know what I want." I practically cry, starting to get frustrated at the conversation.

He steps closer to me again, bringing his arms down so that they can land back on my hips. "I think you do know. And that scares you."

I try to step back but he holds me in place. When I continue to stare at his chest, my own rising and falling pretty quickly, as he lifts my chin so that I have to meet his eyes. I move my head forcefully, releasing myself from his grasp.

I turn and walk a bit away, trying to get some control over my emotions as I look out into the dark hallway. I haven't felt this weak around a guy in a long time, and I wasn't about to start losing control now.

"I'm not about to be your fuckin' rebound." He doesn't respond so I continue. "I saw the look you gave Lori before you kissed me last night. I'm not an idiot or blind. I'm not some girl who thinks so lowly of herself that she will fuck anything with a penis between their legs. I will not be treated like - like some cheap bitch or some toy that you think you can use all because the whore you were fucking found her husband."

"Don't you dare call her that!" He bellows from behind me, spinning me around so that he can glare down at me. I don't hesitate to meet his eyes, my own showing just how pissed off and hurt I am.

"You hate how I'm not afraid to tell you what I think." I say, my voice lowering to sound almost deadly at the end. "You hate how there is some part of you, that even though you claim to be in love with Lori, there is another part that can't help but think of me. That's why I infuriate you so much. Because you can't seem control me. I'm not Lori, and that's what scares you. You're more afraid of me than anything."

His nostrils flare and for a second I feel as though at any moment he is going to take a slap at me. Instead, he just steps back and turns away, his hands balling into fists at his sides as he says lowly, "You don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"But I do know enough to know that what you did to your 'best friend' was wrong, but you didn't care. I know that you don't plan on telling him about you and Lori."

"You don't know what you're talkin' about." He says again, his voice lower and more threatening as he spins back around to face me.

I step closer until we're again, almost chest-to-chest. I knew exactly what I was going to do for the bet.

"If you win, you can make me orgasm as many times as you want, any way you want. If I win," I pause for dramatic effect. "You have to tell Rick everything."

"No," is his automatic response.

"If the roles were reversed you'd want to know. It's only fair that he does too." I say, standing up for what I think is right.

"I said no." He replies menacingly.

"Fine, bets off then." I snap, making a move to turn and walk back to the truck but stop just before turning fully when I hear him let out a deep sigh.

"Fine." He finally says after a long pause. "If you win, I'll tell Rick." He stops, looking up, his cocky grin reappearing on his face. "But sweetheart, you won't win. And when I do, you won't be able to walk for months."

He smirks, his hand once again engulfs mine, pulling my body close so that we are touching in every sense of the word, and I have to lean my head back so that I can look him directly in the eye.

"Deal?" He asks lowly, lust and determination evident in his eyes.

I blush and gulp, his words taking my breath away before I straighten and turn to look him dead in the eyes, as I reply, "Deal."

_Fuck._ What did I just get myself into?

**What did you guys think? Spill all your dirty thoughts on the page!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey Everyone!**

**We're finally starting to progress in the relationships between Daryl/Hayley and Shane/Victoria! Yay! **

**We noticed someone was confused about what happened in the last chapter. Basically Victoria and Shane made a bet, and he bet her that she would ask him "not to leave her". We clear it up a bit in this chapter too.**

**Jizz & Jazz Music,**

**Dino-SOAR & herUSMCdream**

**Hayley POV – **

It's been over four hours and they aren't back yet. I keep looking towards the road, hoping I'll see them driving up it, supplies ready. A sigh escapes my lips and I look to my right to see Merle smoking a cigarette, and Daryl sharpening the end of a stick with a large knife, sitting next to him, though neither one of them is talking. I raise an eyebrow, liking Daryl's ruggedness. He is unlike any of the other guy's I had previously been interested in. He has a certain manliness to him that I liked.

I look away when I realize that I've been staring at him for longer than I should have and turn back to the deserted road. Ugh, I can't take waiting anymore. I walk up cautiously to where Rick and Lori are sitting, chatting away with Carl. I clear my throat awkwardly, not wanting to interrupt too rudely. Both parents' heads snap up, and Rick gives me a polite smile.

"Any idea when Shane said they'd be back? It's been a while." I mumble, embarrassed.

"I'm sure they'll be back soon, sweetie." Lori says, smiling comfortingly.

"Shane's a smart man. Your friend is safe with her." Rick explains, having way too much confidence in what he thought was his 'best friend'.

I smile again, but don't believe it. I hate being such a worrywart, but I just couldn't help it.

I'm pulled out of my thoughts by what I was waiting for all along, the familiar black truck pulling up the road. A grin spreads across my face as I see the bundle of supplies in the back. They did better than I thought. I walk over to the truck, before it even has a chance to stop completely and immediately Victoria steps out of it, her face clearly showing how uncomfortable and pissed off she is.

"You ok?" I ask, hugging her tightly. She nods, but says nothing, stepping away from my embrace. "Are you sure?" I ask again, sensing that something wasn't right.

"Yeah." She says curtly, walking towards our room in somewhat of a hurry. I watch her open the door and disappear into the room before my attention is drawn to Shane stepping out of the truck shortly after and clearing his throat loudly.

"Pack your bags, everyone! We leave in fifteen minutes!" He barks loudly. I hear Merle yell from behind me, telling Shane to shove it up his ass.

"Where are we going?" Rick asks Shane, walking towards him.

"Shooting range. Figure the women and Glenn could use some practice." Shane explains. Rick nods, seeming to agree.

"Some of us don't really need it." Sasha says from beside me.

"And some do." Shane argues, his eyes locking on me. Awkward.

I see Daryl narrow his eyes and I feel embarrassed that he now knows I don't even know how to use a gun. Ugh.

Victoria shuffles out of our room, both our bags dragging behind her as she throws them into the back of the truck. "I don't need practice." She says, clearly already knowing the plan.

"We could all use the practice. Nothing personal towards anyone." Rick tries to be polite about it.

Victoria rolls her eyes at his comment but doesn't respond and I can tell it's taking every ounce of her not to snap at him.

I walk up to her, taking her by the arm. "What the fuck is wrong? Legit." I demand.

"I'll tell you later." She mumbles and starts walking towards the truck. She stops halfway there and watches Shane get in. Her posture is rigid and I can tell she is giving him her famous bitch face before I watch her pivot on her heel and change her path, heading in the direction of Tyreese, Sasha and Glenn's car, getting in the back, next to Sasha without a word. I raise an eyebrow at the situation, not sure what to do. Go to our car with Douchey McDickerdick or go with Victoria in that car and deal with her bitchy attitude? I sigh, and follow Victoria, pushing her into the middle of the backseat as I scoot in beside her.

The car ride is squished and silent due to the lack of speaking and Victoria's brooding behavior. Everyone can tell that she is clearly angry about something that happened between her and Shane, yet no one is willing to draw out the reason why from her.

Once we pull into the shooting range that Shane has led us to, we all get out of the car quickly, trying to get away from the awkward silence. Shane is already out of our truck, talking with Rick most likely discussing strategies. We all seem to gather around in a circle, and I find myself in between Victoria and Tyreese.

"Alright everyone, I think we all could use a bit of practice, but I'd like some experienced shooters to help the less experienced. Any volunteers?" Rick asks aloud, using his hands for gestures. I feel as though everyone's eyes are on Morgan, and I know he's experienced, but assumes no one wants to bother him after his recent loss. Him and Jenny are holding hands tightly. He doesn't seem to want to.

"I'm an experienced instructor, Rick. I'd be happy to show some of the women the ropes." Shane grins, holding up his hand to show he's happy to help. I hear Victoria scoff in his direction, and I'm sure that's the last person who she wants to be learning from right now.

"Me and Darylina will help! Gotta get some pussy somehow, eh boy?" Merle laughs, smacking Daryl on the shoulder. Daryl grunts, but doesn't seem to mind being volunteered. We make quick eye contact, and I give him a small smile before he turns away, mumbling something to himself.

"I don't have the best aim, but I know how to handle a gun for the most part. I could help out with the basics?" Tyreese offers. Rick nods, seeming happy to have so many helpful people in our group.

"I will too." Victoria volunteers. "I have a pretty natural talent for shooting."

Rick and Shane exchange a look of doubt, but before they can say anything, Merle interrupts, "Girly, why don't you just try and handle women things, huh? Cookin' and shit?" He says with that ever present cocky grin of his.

"Why don't we cut the blabbering and get started?" Shane asks, stepping forward to stand slightly in front of Victoria protectively, while cutting in before she can even open her mouth to say something back.

I swallow, and I find myself walking next to Daryl as I follow the rest of the group into the building. My swinging arm gently brushes his by accident and I hear him grumble slightly before he moves his body a bit more away from mine, seeming to not like the physical contact.

"Alright, everyone gets a handgun to practice with. They're lighter, and easier to handle. We'll split into small groups. Lori, Carl, you come with me," Rick pauses, looking around at our group, "Sophia and Carol, you can practice with us if you'd like." He says, motioning towards one area before he walks over to one of the coat hangers on one of the side walls to get some protective gear.

Victoria and I walk over towards Daryl and Merle, neither of us wanting to have to practice with Shane. I look over and see him over in another area to the left of us, with Glenn, Tyreese, and Sasha while Jenny and Morgan hang around the entryway, observing the rest of us in saddened silence.

"Alright ladies, let Ol' Merle show you how it's done!" Merle bellows as other guns start going off around us. He aims his gun towards the figure of a person about a yard away from us and I watch as he shuts one of his eyes before pulling his trigger, a hole bursting through the left side of the silhouettes head.

I sigh, looking down at the dull black gun in my hand, not liking this at all. Why the hell do I need to know how to kill these things? Can't Victoria just do it for me? I mean, she's been doing pretty freakin' dandy all on her own so far.

I look up from my gun, panic starting to rise in me and see Victoria is up ahead, talking to Merle as she aims her gun and shoots, her body slightly going backwards with the force of the rebuttal. Merle claps, while grinning at her widely clearly liking her natural skill and I attempt to hold mine like I had previously seen her holding it. It seems a bit top heavy, fucking up my already bad aim.

I hear footsteps behind me and suddenly Daryl's voice is in my ear, "Ain't gotta' hold it so tight. Jus' relax. Ain't gonna bite yah'." He says, fixing my shoulders and re-forming my stance. My breath is jagged, and I'm nervous at his touch, but I relax like he tells me to.

"Thanks." I say quietly, turning my head so that I can see him. He gives me a nod, and I see the corner of his lip twitch just slightly. He steps back to give me some space and I close one eye like I had seen Merle do and try to aim the gun in the direction of the silhouetted person.

Warm arms suddenly engulf me and strong hands lay lightly upon mine right before I pull the trigger, making me tense. Again, my head turns in the direction and I smile when I see that it's Daryl, relaxing when I realize it's him.

"You ain't killin' any walkers if you aimin' at air." He mumbles when he catches me smiling at him and lightly moves our hands to the right to get a better aim. When he has us positioned in the right area he backs up, letting me go completely and I feel my shoulders sag a bit at the loss of contact. "Pull the trigger."

I take a deep breath, and close my eyes. My eyes are only shut for less than ten seconds before I pull the trigger and then silence. I open them to see that the bullet has gone straight through the center of the head; my mouth opens in shock as I stare at in disbelief. Holy shit!

I squeal, jumping up and down and turn to see Daryl standing behind me, arms crossed over his chest as he grins at me proudly. I laugh and run to him, standing on my tippy toes, to wrap my arms around his neck, although I can barely reach it. I feel him tense beneath me and hurry to drop my arms from around him, stepping back slightly as turn a light shade of pink.

"I ugh, sorry about that" I stammer out, not looking him in the eyes. "I just got excited."

"It's fine." He replies and I look up at him to see him looking down at his feet. "Jus' don't do it again." He finishes, straightening and walking away to stand next to Merle.

I look around and see that Victoria is standing alone, fooling around with her gun. I sigh, shaking my head as I make my way towards her. I'd have to tell her what the hell just happened after I talked to her about the stick up her ass.

"What the hell has been going on with you?" I say sternly as I finally reach her.

"Nothin." She retorts, not looking up from her weapon.

"Bullshit. Spill."

"Shane and I made a bet while we were out getting supplies" she begins after taking a deep breath, and I can clearly tell she is hesitant on telling me the rest. "I told him I would never tell him not to leave me. He disagreed. If I win, he has to tell Rick about him and Lori." She whispers the ending in a hushed tone.

I raise an eyebrow, "And if he wins?"

"He gets to give me an orgasm." She finishes, avoiding eye contact as her cheeks turn a beat red.

"Victoria! What the fuck is wrong with you?" I yell, drawing the attention of Daryl and Merle who are the closet people to us.

"Shh, Hayley," she shushes me, blushing at the attention of the two men.

"Don't shush me." I reprimand. "I can't believe you would even agree to that! What the fuck, dude!"

"I know!" She whisper yells, a frown on her face.

"Jesus Christ. This isn't like you. That's fuckin' nasty. I don't like him. At all." I say sternly, showing her how serious I really am.

"I know!" She snaps.

"Clearly you don't because I swear that is the most idiotic thing you have ever done."

"It's not like he's going to hurt me or anything." She mumbles. "It's just a stupid bet."

I scoff, "He's nuts! Thank Christ Rick is here. With just Shane as a leader, we'd all be royally screwed."

"Hey! You know that's not true. He's a great leader. You just don't like how he sees the world as it truly is."

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?" I ask, not believing that she's actually sticking up for him.

She shakes her head, "He's not a bad guy, Hayley."

"A bad guy? He just happily fucked his best friend's wife and would've continued if said best friend didn't show up! And you're actually telling me he isn't a bad guy!?"

"Hayley-" She starts, her voice icy as she says my name again, but is cut off by Shane's voice barking at us to keep practicing from where he is standing from across the room.

"We'll talk later." I retort. She doesn't answer, instead I watch as she walks away from me, back towards Merle and Daryl, raising her gun and shooting when she reaches the tall table.

I sigh, and look over at the other groups. Tyreese and Sasha are laughing together as he shoots and barely chips the targets shoulder. My mind is immediately taken away from Victoria and I smile, thinking that even in this hell-ish world, they are happy and still have each other. I look to the other side, to Rick's group, and can tell he's getting frustrated with Lori's horrible aim. I feel for her though, knowing that I probably won't be much better. A little to the left of them I notice Sophia is covering her ears, clearly not liking the loud noises. I walk towards her, taking her hand and walking her out of the shooting area.

When it's finally a quieter area, she takes her hands off her ears, and I see tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" I ask, bending down so I'm eye level with her.

"It's loud." She says, pointing to the door we came from.

"I don't like it either. Loud noises hurt my ears too." I try and sympathize for her.

"Can we stay out here?" She asks, a tremble in her voice.

"Only for a few minutes."

"I think Ms. Victoria likes Shane." She states suddenly as we move to sit on the floor, our backs leaning against a wall.

"Y'know what, I think so too." I smile at the small girl's observation skills. We don't speak after that and I'm kind of glad for the few moments' of quietness we get.

My attention is drawn to the doorway when I see a shadow descend over us, and look up to see Victoria's fearful eyes for a second before she relaxes completely and smiles at us.

"What are you two doing out here?" She asks, her ton full of relief.

"We didn't like the noise" Sophia interjects, her head popping around me to look at Victoria.

She nods her head and comes to sit across from us, her legs crossed under her. "Mind if I join you guys? Some of the boys are starting to get all manly and riled up. Even Morgan is joining in on some of their antics." I smile at this, glad Morgan is participating.

I roll my eyes, a picture of Shane, Morgan, and Merle getting into a heated discussion of who has the better shot. A couple of loud gun shots go off at once before the rest of the women, Carl and Glenn step out.

"There you are." Carol says when she sees Sophia. "Come on honey, let's give Victoria and Hayley some time to themselves."

Sophia jumps up quickly and rushes to her mother's side, placing her hand into her mother's waiting palm. Victoria moves her body to sit next to me, and I watch as she pulls her knees up so that she can rest her elbows on them.

"I'm sorry I was a bitch to you" she says.

"It's ok."

"I just don't know how to feel or what to do when it comes to Shane." She says, her voice weak and vulnerable for the first time in a long time.

"I know dude" I start, "but I just don't trust him."

"I can see why, but until we actually have a reason not to, can you try to like him. For me?" She asks.

I sigh, knowing that I would have to, for her. "Fine, but what do I get in return?"

She smiles big, wrapping and arm around my shoulders to pull me into her side. I gulp, not liking the mischievous gleam in her eyes. "My awesome match making skills."

Oh shit.

**Question for you all – Is there anyone you would like to see Victoria or Hayley have a special friendship with? If so, feel free to let us know and we'll definitely try and work it in there! **

**Review, Review, Review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Authors note: **

**WE ARE SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY! This chapter DID NOT WANT TO BE BORN. It was horrible how much time and effort this took! Don't worry though! We plan to get back on track! We're currently working on the outline of Chapter 19, and plan to have that up within a week! **

**Again, we are SO SORRY this took so long! **

**Review please!**

**Scrunchies & Apologies,**

**Dino-SOAR & herUSMCdream**

**Victoria POV - **

I can't contain the grin on my face as Hayley and I skip hand and hand out of 'Marrow's Firearms School.' Sophia and Carl are laughing as they go from between running in front of us to stopping until we catch up so that they too can be skipping with us. The sun is just starting to set and the atmosphere is light and cheery. When I quickly look back to make sure the rest of the group is following suit, I notice Morgan and Jenny are slightly smiling and standing up just a bit straighter, though I can still see the deep sadness embedded in their eyes.

I turn back to the front just in time to see my truck mere inches away from me and skid to a stop before I hit it, realizing that Hayley's hand is no longer holding mine. Bitch wanted me to crash into the F-150. I'm about to spin around and give her a piece of my mind when I hear two loud thumps, followed by giggles and I can't help but relax as I look down at Carl and Sophia all out of breath and red in the face, grinning from ear to ear.

"You're lucky that there are two kids here Maltzy or I would've so just punched you," I hiss to Hayley.

She laughs, but stops a second later and I notice a slight blush spread across her face before she looks down. Immediately I know who it is and I can't help the smug grin that spreads across my face. Payback is a bitch.

I turn and look up to see a not so amused Daryl and a little more off than usual Merle behind me.

"Well, well, Blondie. I thought for sure you were gonna ram right into this here truck" he bellows hitting his palm against the bed of the truck and then hooting out a loud laugh.

I roll my eyes at his comment and say in a deadpan voice "Yeah, yeah. I'm glad you're just oh so worried about my well being."

"Blondie, that shit would've been funny as hell. I wish you would've rammed into it."

I gape at him before my famous bitch face comes out and my hip juts to the side, my arms crossing over my black covered chest. "You're such an ass."

"Oh honey, I've been called a lot worse, you gotta do better than that." He says through a smirk, taking a stumbling step closer to me.

I lean in a bit to inhale the faint smell on his breath before I straighten and ask, "You holdin' out on me?"

"Darlin'?" I hear him question with a grin as I turn on my heel and start walking towards his sleek black Harley Davidson. It's times like these that I wish I had learnt how to drive one.

I don't respond as I open one of the saddle pockets and rummage around in it. A clammy hand wraps around my wrist just as I feel the glass object in my palm and I grasp it before the hand pulls my arm back. I grin as I hold up the vodka bottle and then mask my amusement as I feign hurt when I say "I'm wounded Merle, I thought we had a better relationship than you hiding the good stuff on me."

He chuckles at me, extending his arm out to take the clear bottle from my hand but almost falls when I pull it away from him quickly and take a small step back from him. "You wouldn't last a shot with this stuff."

"Wanna bet?" I say a moment later, not even thinking of the words as they leave my mouth. I immediately regret it with the next sentence I hear.

"More betting?" Comes a voice from behind me and I stiffen, quickly spinning and almost knocking into Shane as he bends towards me so that he can whisper in my ear. "And I thought I was the only one who could get you that riled up."

I scoff at him and lightly put my hand against his chest to push him back, already my face starting to heat up from just him being so close to me. "Yeah. Right."

I make a move to turn and walk away but he pushes my hand further into his chest to keep me put. "I don't like sharing. Remember that."

"Neither do I" I reply, turning my head in the direction I know Lori is standing and I see that she has a look of confusion and what I believe to be hurt from her spot next to Rick, before turning my attention back to Shane who is looking in the same direction. I wiggle my hand out from under his and step back trying to put some distance between us while he is distracted and I can't help but feel a twinge of annoyance and jealousy as he continues to stare at Lori with a look of sadness and adoration. "Maybe _you _should remember that."

He immediately turns his dark brown eyes back to mine and for once I can tell I've made him speechless. His jaw is clenched tightly shut and his eyes are burning into mine, making me feel uncomfortable. But I don't look away. He needed to know that it was going to take a lot more than sexual tension to get anywhere near my pants.

"Well isn't that cute. Our two lovebirds here are having a fight about who owns who!" Merle practically screams from behind us and I spin towards him slightly stunned that he was still there. My face turns an even darker shade of red as I glare at him as best I can through my embarrassment. I can feel the heat and anger radiating off of Shane in waves at the distraction as he as well takes a step closer to me again. I internally roll my eyes at him.

"I am definitely not his girl, and never will be." I snap at him, trying to keep as much anger in my voice that I previously used with Shane even though I wish a hole would appear so I could jump into it and just disappear.

"I see what you like in this girl. She got passion and tits. Maybe I should have a roll with ya." Merle turns his gaze towards me, continuing as if I haven't even spoken, giving me a wink before giving Shane a toothy, drunken grin.

I turn to Shane, smiling a bit at Merle's comment and immediately notice that his body has stiffened. His eyes are hard, but focused. "You shut your mouth." He says sternly.

"What you gonna' do Officah? Gonna cuff me?" Merle eggs him on a bit, standing straighter, broadening his chest more. I hear a deep breath come from Shane and I can tell he's trying to keep his cool.

"Shut up Merle." Daryl's voice comes from behind us, sitting on the bed of our truck, next to Hayley.

"C'mon baby brotha, you and I both know that Mr. Rough and Tough ova' here is just beatin' around the bush. If he won't take the pussy, then I will." Merle smiles largely at me before turning his drunken gaze to Daryl.

I'm about to say something when out of the corner of my eye I see Shane lunge at him, landing Merle a punch in the face. I hear Hayley yelp and immediately jump back from the fight. A blur of white, red, brown and blue whizzes past and I see Daryl suddenly on his feet, trying to pull Shane off of his brother with Rick hot on his heels. Shane shoves them both off his back and bends down so that he is practically straddling Merle, his fists making loud noise when they connect with Merle.

"Shane!" I yell after the shock wears off and start running towards the group of men. "Shane, stop it!"

I'm there in a matter of seconds and as Shane pulls his arm back I quickly grab onto his elbow and tug lightly. "Shane, stop! Please!" In his fit of rage, he goes to pull it roughly out of my grasp, but stops when he hears my voice. His head snaps up and he looks up at me from his place atop of Merle. In that instance our eyes connect and I see the fight and anger leave him before he looks back down at Merle, an intense and fierce look in his eyes again as he takes a clump of Merle's shirt and draws his almost limp body towards him so that they are nose to nose.

"Don't you ever talk to her like that again! Ya' hear me? If I even see you looking at her the wrong way I will kill you myself!"

"Shane-" I start but am cut off by Merle trying to laugh but it is cut shortly by him coughing and groaning.

"Whatever you say, pig." Merle eventually spits out. Shane drops him, and I hear Merle's head thump loudly against the concrete. I watch as Shane pushes himself up and away from Merle as Daryl bends down to help Merle up. Shane gives him one last glare before stomping away, Rick and Lori following after him.

"Are you okay?" Hayley inquires with a raise in her voice, her hand grasping my forearm as she looks me over.

"I'm fine." I say, turning my attention on her instead of the spot where I see Rick trying to calm down a pacing Shane, Lori by his side.

"What was that about?" She asks crossing her arms and jutting out her hip.

"Just boys being boys." I say cryptically not wanting to give anything away.

"Boys being boys, eh?" Her eyebrows dance up and down as she goes back to her playful ways. "Shane just straight up attacked Merle. That's not just 'boys being boys'."

"Shut it Maltzy. I'll talk about it with you later." I mumble as I see the three musketeers start walking towards us, each frowning.

"Okay." She replies in a singsong voice.

I fuckin' hate that voice with a burning passion but right before I'm about to snap at her, Shane's voice rings loud and clear from the far right of us. "Everyone, head to the cars. We're heading out. Fort Benning is probably a good place to start."

"What if its not there?" Hayley asks reluctantly.

"It will be. It's a military base. The military are armed. They can defend themselves against these things. Believe me." Shane says confidently.

Hayley sighs, but doesn't say anything more. She seems too afraid to fight the subject. Especially after what we all just witnessed what Shane was able to do to Merle in a matter of seconds.

"Fort Benning can't be any better off than the CDC!" Daryl says stepping towards the group from where he was previously standing, helping get Merle into their Chevy.

"Trust me on this." Shane says, not turning around to face him. I can tell he's starting to lose his cool again.

"Shane." Rick starts, a slight warning tone in his voice.

"What is there to talk about?! Does anyone else have a better idea?!" He screams.

"How about you make your way out of your ass!" Tyreese is yelling now too, and his face is turning the slightest shade of red with anger.

Shane starts walking over to Tyreese, most likely to give him a piece of his mind, when Rick firmly places a hand on Shane's chest, preventing him from going any further. Giving him a look that only a best friend would give. Silently telling him to stop and calm the fuck down. Shane grunts and storms off to my truck and I slightly cringe knowing I'm going to have to deal with him for the next couple of hours.

Fuck me.

Tyreese takes a deep breath and walks over towards Sasha. I watch Hayley walk over to Daryl and I can only assume she is asking about how his brother's doing.

Daryl grunts out a reply that I don't hear because seconds later Shane comes walking over to me and says in a gruff voice, "Get in." He walks around to the passenger side door and opens it gesturing for me to do as he says. This time I do roll my eyes at him but don't even bother to say anything because I know that our bickering is pointless.

"Hey Victoria?" Hayley's voice comes from right outside the door. I pop my head out of the rolled down window and give her a questioning look.

"Yeah?" I raise my eyebrow.

"Um… I think I'm gonna ride with Daryl and Merle." She mumbles, "Merle's kinda passed out in the back after what happened and the booze didn't help so I figured I'd be the one to give Daryl could some company." She finishes, clearing her throat awkwardly.

I smile loudly, if that's possible. "Maltzyyyyyy" I drag out her nickname in a singsong voice that could rival hers. "Gettin' the D." I can't help but tease her.

She snorts loudly and turns, not saying another word to me as she gets into the blue pick up. My little Maltzy is growing up.

I settle myself into the passenger seat quickly as Shane gets into the drivers seat, Rick, Lori and Carl in the backseat.

It seems like hours have gone by as I sigh for what seems like the millionth time hoping for the time to pass by quicker and lean my forehead against the window frame. Maybe Shane wouldn't be an asshole once we arrived in Fort Benning. Maybe my family would be there with TJ. Maybe in just a few short months the world would correct itself and all of this would be a distant memory someday.

"What are you thinking about?" I hear Rick's voice from behind me. I turn to look into the backseat to see both Lori and Carl fast asleep.

"The possibilities mostly. Or lack of." I try to explain. "How things changed so quickly. And how it probably won't go back to normal anytime soon. My family. Hayley's family."

He smiles gently. "We just got to keep on keepin' on."

"Hayley wants to leave and find her brother. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to convince her not to. If Fort Benning is a bust… " I trail off, not even knowing what could happen in that situation.

"She seems like a smart girl. She'll make the right choice. And when in situations like these, the will to survive is amazing. The shit people will do. She'll do what's best for her in the end."

I sigh again; hoping to God that the choice she chooses would be the one to benefit us both, and not just her. "I guess only time will tell."

He smiles and hugs Lori a little closer, looking down at her with so much love and adoration in his eyes as he says, "Don't give up just yet."

I turn back to the front in time to see Shane glancing at me from the corner of his eye, a smile on his face. I stick out my tongue at him, making him shake his head and snort before he takes my hand in his and says "Yeah, don't give up just yet."


End file.
